My Big Fat Capitol Wedding
by Punzie the Platypus
Summary: The President comes by Victor's Village a week after the Quarter Quell is announced with important news for Katniss and Peeta, shocking them both. Neither wants to do what he says but they have to do it anyway, which includes going off to the Capitol and having a wedding before the Quell, live, for all of Panem to see.
1. An Unwanted Guest

**Thank You, God, for everything.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Hunger Games. Yes, I am once again starting up another story. I need to get into the habit of updating my already started up chapter stories but you're going to have to waitttttttt for those. HE HE HE SORRY. FYI, this starts where Peeta and Katniss and Haymitch are training for the 75th Hunger Games.  
**

**~ Katniss Everdeen's point of view ~  
**

The sun here in District 12 is beating down hard on us. It's normal, of course, for it to beat down on us during the summer, but it seems to be hotter than usual this year.

I finish my jog with a few lazy steps through the fine line that separates the Village, where I just was, and the Seam. I cough, overheated, and my hands latch onto my kneecaps, keeping myself steady. I breathe heavily, but not as heavily as Peeta and Haymitch, who both come in behind me after a minute.

I pant, and look behind me to see Peeta in the same position I was.

"How much time?" I say, my chest going up and down.

"Two minutes, forty seconds," he says tiredly, but determinedly. "We're-we're going to have to get it down to two minutes."

"Oh, for Pete's sake, boy, how much longer do we have to do this?" Haymitch spits. The lack of alcohol in his system has made him even more bitter and annoyed with the world than ever. He's especially mad at Peeta, who came up with this plan.

I'd gladly give the guy a bottle of the stuff, but Peeta's against it. He's determined that two of us three were getting out of the Capitol, and he's training the three of us to get us ready for the Quarter Quell.

I straighten, wiping my brow with my sweaty arm. The Quarter Quell's announcement was just last week, and Peeta, in his usual, calm manner, is now a drill sergeant. I look at him now, panting and smiling at the stop watch. I wonder just how happy about this he really is. Or how burdened. Or sad.

I let out a breath and say, "Not much longer, Haymitch." I turn to Peeta and say, "We're getting a drink. Feel free to join us."

"Okay," he says, and the three of us (Haymitch lags in the back) head to my house in Victor's Village.

We've been in the Meadow all afternoon and only went to the Square to check on Peeta's bread that he has rising in the corner of the bakery. Haymitch and I waited outside while he went and checked on them. His mom saw us and gave me a spiteful look before heading back to the counter. We then began to run when Peeta came around.

By the time we started off to go back home, the road was clear, and that is why I hadn't seen the white car in my front yard when it rolled up.

I blanch and stop walking. Peeta looks at me, and says, "Katniss? What is it?"

He looks and sees the car and whispers, "Oh."

My heart begins to beat even harder than it had been when I was running. No. He can't be here. He had already been here to warn me; what does he want? Why won't he go away? I did the best I could in pretending to be in love with Peeta. Did he come back to reprimand me? That was weeks ago. Why now?

I take a deep breath and look up to see Prim leaning out of the front door.

"Katniss, Peeta," she says quietly, "the-the President's here. He wants to talk to yo-you both."

I nod blankly. I can barely walk toward the house, so Peeta gently grabs my wrist and drags me in. I don't mind the physical contact. Even though we play the star-crossed lovers act for the cameras, I need someone here, right here and now with no cameras, to help me along, because I have absolutely no idea what to do.

The four of us enter the house. Two Peacekeepers are standing near the window that's behind the easy chair that's near the green sofa. My mother is in the kitchen, making supper. She sees us and smiles, saying, "Oh, good. You're back."

Haymitch slumps onto the green sofa and Peeta says softly, "Where is he?"

Still smiling faintly in front of the Peacekeepers, she points to the office, which is near the door, and says, "He's in there."

"Thank you," Peeta says, and we go to the door.

I'm trembling. My hands are shaking like hell and my heart's still palpitating. My brain is frozen; my head begins to hurt. Why is he here? We did the deal. We did. I confronted him at the end of the Victory Tour and he said I didn't do enough. Was that what this was about? Was it because of the Quarter Quell that he now came to talk to me and Peeta?

I gulp and Peeta says, "Ready?"

"No," I say, and I grab the knob and we head in.

The sun's spilling into the white room. There's a white chair in front of a white desk that has a bigger white chair behind it. In the bigger white chair, in his usual crisp and clean and ugly and nasty and horrible clothes and sharp hair, is President Snow.

He smiles at us and says, "Good afternoon Katniss, Peeta."

"Hi," I say loudly.

He smiles a creepy smile, spreading out his lips and says, "Come now, take a seat."

I look to Peeta and he nods for me to take the lone chair. I sit and he stands behind me, one hand on the back of the chair.

"Why'd you come to District Twelve?" I blurt bluntly. I can't help it. It's the question I've been thinking and it's the question I want an answer to. The answer to immediately.

"Oh, you know, Katniss. Same old, same old," Snow says, laughing, moving his hands around.

I continue frowning. I can tell that Peeta is also frowning.

The President clears his throat, loses his creepy smile (I'm a little happier at not having to look at it) and leans forward, his hands clasped on the desk.

"Now, Katniss, remember, when I was here before, we made a deal with each other. What was that?"

I think and think back to when he had come before. "You said for us to not lie to each other," I reply.

"That's right. I'm not sure what you think is lying, but _I _consider you illegally training is a way of deception, don't you think, Katniss?" he says.

I give him a poker face now, trying to hide the fact that I want to punch his ugly face. "I didn't think that what we did like that mattered," I say, though I know that my words are hollow. Peeta, feel free to take the rein and make this conversation go in our favor, please.

"You didn't think training for the Games mattered? Tsk, tsk, Katniss," Snow says slyly.

"Would you like for us to stop? Because we can, you know, stop making our bodies ready to kill," Peeta pipes up from behind me in his charming tones. I'm not sure what effect his words will now have with the President who's sending us off to our deaths.

"Continuing is illegal, and so I don't think that you should continue with such a practice. Breaking a law like that in Panem is punishable by several things, including the usual stocks, whippings and the like," Snow says.

He's a disgusting man. This only makes me clench the armrests on my chair. When makes me really angry is that he ignores the fact that the Career districts, 1, 2, and 4, all have _freaking training academies _for their tributes. He turns a blind eye to the Capitol lap dogs and turns to us, District 12, where the two victors of last year's games cheated the Capitol of death.

I continue clenching the armrests, unrelenting, as he continues, "But, as the Capitol is, we remember and uphold our victors." Yeah. Sending them to their deaths is definitely the Capitol way to remember and uphold their victors.

Snow continues, "And so, that is why I'm giving you an offer that will get you off injury free."

"What?" Peeta asks.

"It's something that is virtually painless on your part but will help the entire nation incredibly. It will also help make everyone think that the star-crossed lovers are real, very real," Snow says calmly.

"Really?" Peeta says, and I almost shove him at his words. He's trying to be funny and _now's not the time_.

"Yes. You see, Katniss, Peeta, in order for the star-crossed lovers to convince our nation that they're really in love, they have to stay in love for the rest of their lives."

"Yes," I say. What does he mean? Haymitch had already told me this, back at the train. He said that Peeta and I were going to have to stay together always, which meant that we'd have to get -

"Do you mean that-"

"Katniss, it is _heavily _known in the Capitol that my citizens were counting on a wedding someday. Unfortunately, now with the Quell, there's no chance for that to happen. That is, of course, not in the vast future. But now, you can," says Snow, leaning back in his chair.

"Wait, what?" Peeta says, leaning forward, "you mean you want us to-"

". . . get married," I finish blankly. Of course. The Capitol would have been horrified at the Quell for separating Peeta and I, and I know that if we get married, not only will the Capitol be ecstatic, but maybe our wedding will officially calm the flames burning up in the Districts.

I internally start to panic. A WEDDING. I'm seventeen, and I'M GETTING MARRIED, AND I'LL BET YA THAT IT'S NOT GOING TO BE IN DISTRICT 12. It's no doubt going to be a big, staged Capitol wedding, full of bright lights and substance but no heart, no sincerity.

Effie should go ballistic. My mother will be surprised and so will Prim. Peeta's family is going to have mixed reactions. I inwardly groan when I think of how everyone will think of this. Haymitch, Cinna, Portia, Gale . . .

_Gale._

I instantly sit up straighter. How will he react? This is bad.

Snow smiles an evil sort of smile and says, "Yes. If all plans go correctly, we should be heading out in the morning."

"Tomorrow morning?" I say quickly, incredulous. "We're moving out so soon?"

"Yes, we have a very busy TV schedule and the Games are being put together, so we shall get it done very, very soon. We have plans that the wedding should take place in the City Square eight days from today," Snow says. Gosh, I want to lash at him. His greedy little eyes, his selfish face, his ugly being. All could be improved by my vicious fingernails.

"Will that be accommodating for the both of you?" he says.

"Yes, we'll make it work," Peeta says in a happy sort of voice. I've heard that voice before. He's using it to force that he's happy when he isn't.

"Good, good. We'll be leaving, eleven o'clock tomorrow morning," Snow says, standing up. He smiles and tipping his head to one side, says brightly, "Oh, and make sure your families come. Katniss," and he looks at me. He loses his happy tone and still smiling, says, "Extend an invitation to your 'cousins.' Wouldn't want any of your family to miss your wedding. Tell them they have the days of coming to and leaving the train and their time in the Capitol free of work."

I have a feeling that Gale won't want to go. I also have a feeling that it's an invitation he shouldn't refuse if he wants to stay unbeaten or unpunished. I begin to gnaw on my inner cheek.

Peeta turns to open the door for him and Snow says, "Thank you for adapting to the circumstances. I'll be off to the Mayor's. Good day," and he disappears into the hall.

Peeta closes the door, leaving Snow and the Peacekeepers to be sent off by my mother. He walks up to me and nonchalantly sits on top of the desk, looking at the ground.

We sit there for a few minutes, our minds reeling. What just happened? Tomorrow my family and Peeta's family and _Gale's family _are going to be shipped off to the Capitol where I'm going to have to marry Peeta in a big, showy wedding.

I slump in my chair and look up to Peeta. He's looking at the ground, and I wonder what he's thinking of. The love was real, very real on his part, and I know that inside he's fighting with himself, happy on one side of the spectrum, upset and horrified on the other.

We sit in silence for a minute before the door opens and Prim pops her head in.

"Supper's ready," she says quietly, not knowing what to say because she doesn't know what happened. I'm going to have to tell my mother and Prim and so I say, "All right, Peeta, c'mon, let's go to supper." That's where I'll tell them.

"Allr ight," he says in his usual voice, and the three of us head to the kitchen table which is near the staircase. The table's set and Haymitch is sitting on one side of the table, a surly look on his face, a knife in his hand. He's using the utensil to pick his teeth.

I take the seat opposite him and Prim takes the seat next to me. Peeta takes the foot of the table while my mother, setting down a pitcher of water, sits at the head.

We begin the usual and begin to eat after a moment. I'm pouring my water when Haymitch looks up from his roasted venison and says, "Alright, what did he have to say?"

I look quietly at my plate while he, my mother and Prim stop eating to look at me. Peeta looks up from his plate, chewing thoughtfully.

"He-he knows about us training illegally," I say, looking straight back to Haymitch. No way was he going to stare me down. "He wants us punished."

"How?" Haymitch wants to know.

"By having us get married in the Capitol for all of Panem to see," Peeta says, and his voice is just like mine. Cool, even, masking the madness within.

"What?" my mother says, looking worriedly at me, "you're going to have to get married?"

"In the Capitol? When?" Prim asks me in an awed voice.

"We're leaving tomorrow," I say, still looking at Haymitch, "on the President's train. All of us. He wants my mother and Prim and Peeta's family to come." My mother looks at me worriedly and Peeta gives me a nod, telling me to finish. I sigh and say, "And he wants my 'cousins' to come, too. Wouldn't be right without all the family there," I end sarcastically.

"Oh my goodness," my mother says. I raise my eyebrows and take a bite of bread that Peeta had brought earlier this afternoon. It tastes dense and flavorless.

My mentor whispers so that just me and Peeta can hear, "Was this 'punishment' also to do with your unsuccessful attempt to be in love, sweetheart?" I look back to Haymitch and give him a hard look as I watch him spread jam on his bread.

"Partly," Peeta says quietly after a moment, looking warily at my mother and Prim. He's right. We can't relay too much information with them around. They knew nothing about this and we intend for it to remain that way.

Haymitch nods and takes a giant bite of bread.

"When is the wedding?" my mother says faintly. I look to her, and she looks tired. She's realized that despite her being my mother, there is nothing she can do about this, so she just decides to take it and work with it.

"In eight days," I say quietly.

"Eight days?" my mother says, sighing. She sits up straighter and says, "We should go pack, then, after supper."

"You won't have to pack a lot. They'll be making us new clothes so we'll look good on camera," I say, and the conversation dies down. We eat and after a while we finish. I stand up and so does Peeta.

"We're going to go take Haymitch home," I say, though that's only one of the things we're doing.

My mother smiles faintly and says, "All right."

I smile to reassure her as Peeta and I both take one of Haymitch's arms and lung him out the front door.

We take him to his house but stop at his door. We slip out from under his arms and I straighten, saying, "Haymitch, is there anything we can do?"

"What makes you think that you can get out of this?" Haymitch wants to know. "You can't defy the Capitol and Snow like that, not after what you did with those berries, sweetheart. Believe me, you don't want to." He scowls and says, "Besides, I told you before that you would have to marry the boy at the train if you didn't pull it off. It's your fault."

Peeta begins to say, "Hey, the 'boy' is right here!" while I say at the same time, "My fault? MY FAULT? I did the best I could with you two's idea!"

Haymitch looks at us both and then says, "Sorry, sweetheart, but there's no getting out of this one," and he walks into his house, no doubt to research the place for liquor once again.

Peeta and I watch as the door closes before he turns to me and says, "What did Haymitch mean by what he told you at the train? What happened?"

I sigh. I guess I didn't tell him about that conversation, did I? He knew that we had to act in love on the tour, but I never told him about that conversation. I probably should have told him, but it seemed to be one of those things between Haymitch and I. Something that he didn't have to know about.

"Remember on the Victory Tour when I yelled at Effie and then stomped out of the train when it stopped for fuel?" I say, turning and walking down the porch steps.

"Yeah. Was that where you talked together and neglected to tell me stuff once again?" Peeta says a bit angrily as he follows me to the main road.

"Yes," I say spitefully, turning to face Peeta. "Yes. I got mad and Haymitch talked to me."

"What about?" Peeta wants to know. We're standing still now, looking at each other's faces.

"About me pulling off this act, that no matter what, we're going to have this-this 'star-crossed lovers' act for the rest of our lives, which means that I HAVE TO MARRY YOU!" I say angrily.

"So you knew that you'd have to marry me no matter what and no one bothered to tell me this?" Peeta asks.

"It isn't that hard to figure out, Peeta!" I say. "I might have told you but then I forgot about telling you when last week we were both sentenced to death!"

Peeta looks hurt now. "You could have told me. We were supposed to be honest with each other."

"We never agreed to that," I say, my voice coming down. "Snow and I did, and now look at us."

We both sigh and look at the ground. After a moment, I wave my hand and say, "I-I have to go tell Hazelle about this arrangement."

"I've got bread to take care of," Peeta says quietly. We both look at each other and I say, "Well, good night then, Peeta."

"See you tomorrow, Katniss," he says, and we both look at each other before I make the first move and give him a hug. I don't know why exactly I do it; there's no cameras and I'm not typically an affectionate person. Still, I have to make him feel like this is not his fault and for him to stop looking so hurt about this.

I let him go and say, "Go bake some bread, Peeta."

He smiles and we both turn in opposite directions, Peeta to the Square, me to the Seam.

I walk along the familiar grey path through the patchy houses toward the Hawthorne household. I sigh, wondering what to do. I suppose I'll talk to Hazelle and hopefully she can tell Gale. She's an even-tempered woman and hopefully will take this in stride the way that Gale most definitely won't.

I approach their house, which is much like the other houses in the Seam. It's nearly seven now, so hopefully they'll be finished eating and Gale will be sharpening something or other outside the house, preparing for Sunday. The Sunday he won't get to go to the woods because he's going to the Capitol.

I knock on the door and look down with a small smile when I see an almost-six-year-old Posy holding the dirty knob.

"Hey, Posy," I say.

"Hello, Katniss," she says brightly. She turns and says, "Mommy, Mommy, Katniss is here!"

"Oh, is she?" I hear Hazelle say. I hear her come to the door and she holds the door for Posy. "Hello, Katniss! Please, do come in."

"I'll be just a minute of your time," I say as I walk behind Hazelle and Posy to their kitchen, waving to Vick and Rory as we pass them. They're sitting in their small living room, playing with carved boats.

We settle in seats around their tiny table and I say, "I have something to talk to you about."

"Yes, what is it?" Hazelle asks as she helps Posy settle on her lap.

"A train came today, and it wasn't a coal train. It was the President's train. He came to my house and talked to me and Peeta, and um, we're now going to get married in the Capitol in eight days," I say, looking at her for a reaction.

Her brow furrows and she says, "Oh. How-how is your mother taking this?"

"Well enough. She knows that she can't do anything about it," I say. I sigh and continue, "We're leaving tomorrow morning on the train that leaves at eleven. Now, um, there's something that I need to tell you."

"That wasn't the news?" she asks.

"It was, but there's more. You see, you know about the plan of you and your family posing as my 'cousins?'" I say, using my fingers as quotations.

"Yes," she says slowly.

"Well," I say, taking a deep breath, "the President has extended an invitation at our wedding to you and the boys and Posy." I bite my lip, and the look on Hazelle's face tells me that she knows that they can't refuse such an invitation.

"Oh," she says, "how lovely. Um, eleven, you said?"

"Tomorrow morning. It's probably best for you to be there at ten-thirty," I say quietly.

"Of course," Hazelle says. "Well, um, alright."

"What does that mean, Mommy?" Posy asks, looking up to her mother.

"It means we're going on a train tomorrow," Hazelle says in response. "Go, tell your brothers to go find some bags and pack their things." Posy slides down from her mother's lap and skips over to the boys.

We watch her before turning to each other.

"Why would the President make you and Peeta do this?" Hazelle wants to know, leaning toward me to whisper. "I mean, forcing a marriage?"

I sigh and say, "It's a little complicated. You see, Peeta, myself and Haymitch have been training for the Games this year-"

"Yes, Gale told me about that," Hazelle says softly, her face growing concerned.

I nod and continue, ". . . and he found us out. Instead of the usual punishments, he wants to please the people of the Capitol and make us, you know, get married."

"But you're both so young!" she says. "Only seventeen!"

"Age is but a number with the Capitol," I say. She looks at me with sympathetic eyes before saying, "Are you a little happy about it at all?"

I have no clue if she knows anything about the star-crossed lovers being an act (probably. Practically everyone except the Capitol citizens thinks it's fake) or about Gale and myself with, you know, our kiss. I sigh; what am I going to do with him?

"A little, I guess," I say. That's not a lie; I mean, Peeta's a nice guy. He's smart, handsome, can cook, is good with kids, he gets along with everyone and he's got a bit of money on him, I admit that, so yeah, I guess. He's almost a poster-child. Almost. Being married to him wouldn't, in reality, be that bad. It was the being forced to get married in front of millions of people against my will bit that I don't like.

Hazelle smiles faintly. "That's good."

"Yeah," I say. Hazelle nods and looking over my shoulder, says, "My, it's getting dark."

I spin around and notice the night setting in. "Yeah," I say, and I stand up. Hazelle stands as well and we walk to the door, me saying, "Remember, be there at ten-thirty. Effie can be crazy when someone breaks her schedule."

"All right," she says as we stop at the door.

"Thanks for doing this," I say. I most definitely do not want Hazelle or Posy or Gale or anyone of them get in trouble because of myself and my bad acting skills.

"Not a problem," she says as she opens the door.

I smile slightly, a bitter smile, and say, "All right, goodbye then, bye Posy" - I wave to the little girl, who's hiding behind Hazelle's skirts - "bye, Vick, Rory!"

Hazelle smiles faintly and I trot out the door, down their porch steps and into the dusty street. I fold my arms over my chest and go to the road and begin to walk. It's beginning to get dark but I've walked these roads before and I know every twist and turn in the grey light.

I walk a minute before I hear the crunch of someone walking behind me, running, really. I turn to see Gale coming toward me, saying, "Catnip!"

"Gale?" I say because there's nothing else I can think of to say. He knows. I know he knows.

He stops in front of me and pointing back to the house, says, "What did Posy mean by we need to pack to go on the train tomorrow? Catnip, tell me, what's going on?"

"We have to go to the Capitol, Gale," I say bluntly after a second.

"What?" he says, obviously annoyed. "Why?"

"For a big celebration," I say.

"Concerning the Games?" he says, disgusted.

"Kind of," I say. I bite my lip and look at the ground. "It's an, um, celebration for my, um, wedding."

I look up to meet his grey eyes, which change from shocked to hurt to what? to angry.

"He's forcing you two lovebirds to get married?" Gale wants to know.

"We're not 'lovebirds', Gale," I hiss. "We're doing it in punishment for training for the Games."

"This is your punishment? Getting married? On TV?" he spits, easily detecting that this will be broadcasted. He looks away from me and says, "This is disgusting."

"Hey, I don't like it anymore than you do, Gale!" I say.

He looks back to me, saying, "You don't?" and I can tell that he doesn't say this because of it being broadcasted. He's saying this with me not wanting to marry Peeta in mind.

"No," I say, "I don't want any of this."

"You don't want to marry Peeta?" he wants to know.

I stammer as I say, "Well, I don't know." Like with Hazelle, I can't admit that I'm not going to be miserable. I hate the concept, not Peeta.

I look to Gale and say, "I don't want to get married on live TV in the Capitol, if that's what you're asking, Gale!"

He's not looking at me. He's looking beyond me, and I turn to see what he's looking at. It's the fence and the Meadow. Beyond it is the woods, our woods, and the mountains and freedom and everything that is being snatched away from me.

"We could do it you know," he says, and I swivel around to see him still looking beyond me. "Take our families, outwit the Peacekeepers and take to the woods. Avoid the Capitol all together."

"Gale," I say a bit pleadingly, "you know we can't. The whole fence is electrified all day everyday and getting caught is inevitable."

He continues looking and I say, "Pack up tonight and be at the train by ten-thirty tomorrow."

He finally looks to me and says, "Fine. Be ordered around by the Capitol for the rest of your life." He gives me a sour look and says, "See you at the train station, then. Night, Catnip," and he turns around and heads back to his house.

I watch him leave before I scoff and continue down the road. Now we're just mad at each other. Him toward me for kissing up to the Capitol so nobody else has to die because of what I do or did and me toward him for being unreasonable.

I continue down the road, passing Victor's Village. I'm not heading home yet. Not yet. I have one last stop to go before I head back for my last free night at home.

**You'd be surprised how fast it is to write in first person. Anyhoodlum, how did I do? Did you like it? Please let me know!**


	2. Getting to the Train

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Hunger Games. In regards to CheezyBread, let me tell you the truth. I write chapters and stories when I get in the mood to, and I can't guarantee that I'm going to update on a regular basis. I'm pretty sure that people are not technically 'watching' this story for updates everyday, and so I'm sure that I'm not going to mess with someone's life by not updating on a regular basis. I'll update, but on an irregular schedule. :)  
**

**~ The awesome Katniss Everdeen's point of view ~  
**

I walk down the road into town. The night's warm, but I feel cold. Arguing with Gale was not something I enjoy doing, and leaving him like that makes me feel mad and annoyed and upset toward him. I wish he would realize that I can't escape this; even though I don't want to do it, I can't get out of it. I really, really wish that he would see that.

I sigh and look around. I'm near the center of town now, and after a moment, I see in the dark the looks of a big, white house. That's where I want to go.

I walk around the house and go to the back door where I usually meet up with Madge when Gale and I take strawberries and game over to her father. It would feel weird if I showed up at the front door. It barely gets used, and I feel like it'd be embarrassing to use it.

I knock on the door and back away, for it will swing out. I start to chew on the inside of my lip and wait. I know that Madge's mother goes to bed early because of her headaches; what if Madge does as well? It'll be too busy tomorrow to see her beforehand, and I have to talk to her before I head to the Capitol.

Luckily, after a moment, the door swings open, and Madge says, "Katniss?"

"Hey," I say lamely. I sigh and say, "I need to talk to you."

"Right now? Katniss, there's Peacekeepers everywhere," Madge says. I've noticed that she's been more uptight about the Peacekeepers ever since Gale's whipping. Frankly, we all have.

"Madge," I say, and without any warning, I say, "I'm getting married tomorrow."

Madge looks at me, shocked, and looking behind her to see if her father is watching her, she slips out of her house and closes the door.

"What?" she says as we begin to walk around the small grey compound that's her backyard.

"President Snow is here -" I start.

"I know," she says, "he's in my house _right now_."

I forgot about that.

She continues, "He sent a message to my father about something and is staying here until he leaves tomorrow. I tried to get out to tell you about him but Mother insisted that I stay because it isn't _every _day that the President of Panem stays at our house. We had a dinner party."

So she already had a suspicion that the President had a reason to see me.

"I was worried about what he wanted, but he seemed so happy and didn't discuss anything at dinner. HE WANTS YOU TO GET MARRIED? KATNISS!" Madge says loudly, incredulously.

"Shush! Madge! Peacekeepers!" I remind her.

"It's . . ."

"Peeta, yeah, we're the 'star-crossed lovers from District Twelve,' Madge," I say in an annoyed voice, not toward her but toward the Capitol and the whole idea of the star-crossed lovers. The only thing I like about the star-crossed lovers was that it led to my survival of the Hunger Games; now that I'm out of the arena, the star-crossed lovers are currently ruining my life.

Brilliant.

"He can just _force _you two to get married? What - by what means is he able to do that?" says Madge angrily, "he's abusing his power, ONCE AGAIN."

"He's doing it because he heard of myself, Haymitch and Peeta training for the Quarter Quell -"

"Yeah, how's that going?"

"It sucks, to be honest, but instead of the usual stocks and whippings" - Madge winces - "he wants myself and Peeta to get married BEFORE we go to our untimely deaths; to 'unite the nation' or something like that," I say huffily, walking swiftly back and forth.

"Remember, keep it down, Katniss," Madge tells me in a quiet voice, "there's Peacekeepers in my house."

I groan and say, "They're everywhere."

Madge nods and says, "I imagine that there's going to be a lot of them at the train station tomorrow."

"Yeah," I say quietly, remembering how we're all going to have to be packed even though we're barely going to wear any of it. The train station. I inwardly swear and then say, "Hey, Madge, tomorrow we're going to leave at eleven."

"Is it just going to be you and Haymitch and Peeta and your families?" asks Madge.

I bite my lip and say, "Not quite."

Madge's eyes widen and says, "You have MORE people coming?"

"Yes," I say and after a moment, sigh and say, "The Hawthornes."

"Gale?" she says incredulously, "Gale's going to the Capitol?"

"Snow invited him and his siblings and mother himself," I say in a quiet, dark voice. "It would be rude for them to ignore such an invitation."

"Yeah," says Madge quietly, for she gets my sarcasm and the underlining meaning.

After a moment, she continues, "How did Peeta react?"

I cock my head to the side and say slowly after a moment, "He likes the idea of him marrying me, I believe, but that's about it." Honestly, Peeta looked really upset when he heard the news, even though it was something that I bet he's been wanting to hear for twelve years.

A minute passes and Madge says quietly, "He does really love you, you know."

"I know," I say. He does, and I have no idea why. I wouldn't like someone like me. I'm mean, sharp, sarcastic, firm and serious, all of the time. Being at the receiving end of my tongue doesn't sound like a nice thing at all.

Suddenly I wonder if Peeta has really realized what he's getting himself into. A marriage with me sounds kinda bad. Peeta, being the good person that he is, deserves someone who's as kind and as good as he is. Someone who actually wants to marry him and is not forced to because of the President.

I sigh and Madge says, looking around, "It's getting dark."

I nod. "I better be getting back. Prim will need help packing." I suddenly smile for some reason and say, "My prep team is going to love Prim." They're like a bunch of fluffy, weird birds instead of people, and little Prim will have them falling over each other in excitement.

"They will?" Madge asks, and I tell her about my prep team.

"They'll be taking care of you in the Capitol?" she asks.

I say, "Probably," because I can't think of a reason why they wouldn't.

Madge nods and I realize that we're going to have to say goodbye now, tonight. Tomorrow's going to be swept up with reporters and photographers and cameramen from the Capitol train. I'll barely get to even spot Madge at the station, never mind get to say goodbye.

"Madge," I start, but I stop when she wraps her arms around me and give me a hug.

"Remember, you'll be with Peeta, and it could be worse," she says, "I don't know how, but I'm trying to make you feel better the best way I can."

I smile slightly and say, "Thanks, Madge."

After a moment, we pull apart and she says, "Keep an eye on Gale in the Capitol. It wouldn't do for your 'cousin' to attack a citizen for existing."

I nod. I'll have to keep him in line. "Bye, Madge."

She smiles a quiet, small smile and says, "Bye, Katniss."

She heads back into her house and slips in without the Peacekeepers spotting her and I walk around the house and head back to Victor's Village.

It is now officially night, and I can barely see. I'm not too bad in the dark, though. I used to get up really early to go to the woods. Used to, anyway.

I arrive home and there's light coming in from behind the curtains in the window to give me some light. I enter and see that the kitchen's cleaned up and my mother is busy wiping at dishes.

She looks up and says faintly, "Oh, there you are. Have a good time?"

I nod and decide to not tell her about Madge. It was almost like a lovely secret between us two, not having anyone else know.

"I'm going to go help Prim pack," I say.

My mother nods and says, "Alright."

I give her a small smile to make her feel better and go up the stairs. They squeak slightly as I walk up them. I turn and go to the one of the rooms on the left. Mine has the windows in the front of the house and Prim has the windows at the back.

I walk into her room. It's a light yellow and has two windows, both open to let air into the house. Prim's sitting on her bed, folding her four dresses. The first thing I did when I got money from the Games; I went with Prim and my mother to the Merchant part of District 12 and we bought several yards of various fabric. Prim and my mother sewed new dresses for themselves and a couple for me, though I like pants and shirts.

I smile now, glad that Prim finally has some decent clothes. In her closet, though, is her too big shirt and skirt; her duck tail.

"Hey, little duck," I say as I sit on the bed next to her.

"Hi, Katniss," she says. I watch her quick fingers finish folding her clothes before I say, "Excited to go on the train tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure," she says as she brings out her bag. It's something that she made herself. It's a squarish bag made out of tough cloth that would serve as a container for her clothes. "It sounds exciting, I guess, but a bit scary. It goes awfully fast."

"It can go up to two hundred fifty miles an hour, but you hardly feel it at all," I say, "it's not scary, little duck."

"Maybe not for you," she says, "you've been on it before."

"I wasn't scared the first time I was on it," I say, even though that's not really true. I wasn't scared of the train, of course, but I was a little scared for myself and my aliveness; I had been heading to the Hunger Games, of course.

"You're not scared of anything," says Prim, looking up at me. "Nothing can scare you."

I look at her and reach out and push a lock of blonde hair out of her face and say quietly, "I'm scared now."

Her eyes widen slightly and she asks, "Why?" I remain quiet. I'm not scared of one particular thing; I'm scared that Prim might get Reaped after the Quarter Quell, but not right now, for it seems so far away.

"I guess I'm scared of getting married," I say. I don't even know why I say it; I'm not supposed to let Prim know that I'm scared. I'm supposed to be the strong one that she can lean on and know can protect her when she needs protecting.

But I DO feel scared. Of the inevitable. Things are changing; things are getting worse.

"There's no need to be scared," she tells me, though. "It's just Peeta."

I nod and say, "At least it's Peeta." I sit up straight and looking back to Prim, who's staring at me, I say, "C'mon. Let's get you packed."

"And then we'll get you packed?" she asks.

I nod and we begin. She begins to carefully sort her clothes into piles as I pull them out of her drawer and small closet. Her dresses are already folded, so they get shoved in first. Next goes her pajamas and underwear. A hairbrush follows and some hair ribbons. I'm against things like hair ribbons, but I had broken down and gotten her some after I saw her looking longingly at them in the store. If there's one place to wear hair ribbons, it's the Capitol, anyway.

We add a couple of more things before Prim does up the buttons on her bag and we head to my room.

My bedroom is messier, the bed all slopped about and things falling out of their drawers. I don't mind the mess, though.

I toss all my clothes out and Prim folds them and we tuck them into my own leather bag.

It's well after nine when we finish. My bag sits on the bed along with myself and Prim and we look around my room.

I realize that this is the last night I'll be sleeping in this room. This is the last night I'll be sleeping in this _house_. No doubt that after we're married I'll have to go and live with Peeta in his house.

I begin to feel a bit panicked. All my life, I've lived with my mother and Prim. Even though Peeta's house is the house on the other side of Haymitch's, which is next door, I feel panicked.

My mother is still not well enough, I believe, to take care of Prim. She's only barely thirteen, and to see that I won't be here anymore to help her frightens me. I can come over everyday until the Games but it still won't feel right. I won't be here, all the time, for Prim. And my mother, but mostly for Prim.

"You're not going to live here much longer, are you?" I hear Prim say in a small voice.

We're thinking the same thing.

"No," I say, wrapping an arm around Prim's small shoulders, "but I'll be just two houses away and I'll come over everyday."

"Promise?" asks Prim in the same small voice.

"I promise," I say, and we sit there for a little while before I say, "Hey, want to sleep with me tonight?"

She nods, and we both get up and drop our bags downstairs. Prim gets into a nightgown while I slip on a tank and small shorts. We drop downstairs to say good night to our mother, who says in a faint voice, "Good night, girls."

After that, we head upstairs and into my bedroom. It's summer and the windows are open. I only have one blanket over the sheets in my bed, but neither of us mind. I snuggle against Prim's back as she quickly falls asleep. I begin to run my hand through her hair as I begin to think. My last night at home. My last night with Prim in this house.

The last night I'll be sleeping as an unmarried teen in District 12.

* * *

I wake up in the morning and immediately want to stay asleep, stay away from everything this world has to offer. Of course, Effie Trinket wouldn't hear of such a thing. I had thought she would be in the Capitol, but apparently President Snow had brought her along to make sure that Peeta and my families (and the Hawthornes, which, they are technically my family, in the eyes of the Capitol) follow her schedule.

That's why I hear her voice at seven in the morning, knocking on my door, saying in her accented voice, "Katniss, wake up! Today is going to be a big, big, big day!"

"Course it is," I mutter, and I snuggle harder against Prim's small back.

Her back isn't there, though, and I immediately sit up, saying loudly, "Prim?"

I turn to see the door open and Prim's head peeks through.

"Effie says it's time to get up," she says sweetly, and she disappears again.

I sigh and groan as I lay back in bed. I don't want to go to the Capitol; I want my home and my house and District 12 and this _bed_. How does Effie get up so early? I get up early, but I want to stay in my bed as long as I possibly can now.

I eventually sit up and look out the window above my bed. I curse and scramble out of my bed; my prep team's getting out of a car in front of my house. I wonder how the President had restrained them from coming to me last night.

I look around my room, searching for some clothes. No way in ANYTHING am I going to be pinched, soaked, burned and pampered when I'm about to go to the Capitol. Not now. NOT NOW. I have to get dressed before they find me.

I scramble into a fluffy light blue blouse and jeans and put on some socks, hopping up and down on one foot as I slip the socks on each foot while hopping out of my room into the hall and down the stairs.

I emerge at the bottom of the stairs, my hair in a disheveled mess. I see my prep team squeal as they get off of the green sofa they all were sitting on. I wince as they surround me. I probably should have brushed my hair.

"Katniss! We're so excited!" says Octavia.

"It's the biggest party of the year and we're invited!" says Venia.

"You can't imagine how jealous the other prep teams are going to be," says Flavius.

I smile slightly to appease them and say, "Okay, but how about we not do anything to me until we're in the Capitol?"

Octavia's face falls as she says, "But we're traveling in the President's train-"

"Will we see him in the train?" I ask.

"No, he has his own car-" begins Venia.

"Then we shouldn't have to worry about me looking too nice until we get to the Capitol," I say. I smile harder and say, "Mother, would you get them some tea, please?"

I look up to see my mother standing in the kitchen with Effie, both sipping from cups, Effie holding a schedule. My mother smiles her faint smile and says, "Of course. Tea?"

"Oh, alright," says Venia. She gives me a kiss on my cheek and says, "Alright, but don't think that we're not excited to take care of you."

"Cinna's going to make you shine!" says Octavia before she turns to my mother and accepts the mug she gets.

I feel myself growing a little excited. Cinna. I get to see him before the Games. Brilliant. He and Portia have probably designed clothes for everyone going to the Capitol, working themselves to death. I know that I can trust Cinna. He's one of my only friends, and practically the only one from the Capitol besides Effie, and I'm not even sure that she counts.

I remember that Cinna is the one who designed all the wedding dresses for me to wear. One's already been chosen though, by the people of the Capitol, for pete's sake; the only consolation about that is that Cinna designed it.

I try to think back now to the night when the Quarter Quell was announced. What did my dress look like? I can barely remember; I was too sad and filled with tears to be able to think about my wedding dress that I wasn't going to wear. But I'm going to wear it now.

My mother forces a couple of tea into my hands with a small smile and I drink it. I need to calm my nerves; I'm overly excited, but with good reason. We have three hours to get stuff to the train station. The train leaves in four, but we have got a lot of stuff to get in; there'll be people crowding us, making it hard for us to get there, so we have to leave early.

I take a seat next to Prim at the kitchen table and think of how Madge must be handling it, having the President of Panem eating breakfast at her house. I hope that he has an accident on their stairs or something and dies.

I take another sip of my tea and Effie says loudly, "Alright, remember, we have to leave the house by ten o'clock! I'm going to Peeta's, make sure that he has his stuff together. I'll see if I can get someone to pack a couple of things for Haymitch."

Ahh, Haymitch. Forgot about him. Guess I just knew that he was automatically coming anyway. Didn't even include him in my thinking of making sure that everyone gets to the train station, same with Peeta. The three of us are like that. Sometimes, we're like the same person; driven and leading.

Effie continues, "I'll be sending a couple of Peacekeepers over to your cousins', Katniss, to take their things to the train. I'll do the same for Peeta's family. All right." She puts a pen behind her ear and tucking the clipboard to her side, starts walking on her high heeled feet to the door.

Time passes and we rush around. Peacekeepers are passing through the five houses, taking the baggage and taking it to the train. My prep team begs and begs and finally I let them fix up a bit of makeup on me and brush my hair.

I let my mother braid my hair, though. I know that she enjoys doing it, and I want her to do it.

Prim watches, wide eyed, on the porch, and keeps running into the house to look at the clock. Buttercup is given to Greasy Sae, who has heard the news and has come over. He protests but goes anyway, with strict orders from Prim for him not to be cooked in soup.

Frankly, I won't mind if that's the last I see of that cat.

Effie comes in once or twice and I think of how I'll have to pack up all of my things to take into Peeta's house when we get home when Effie squeals, "It's ten o'clock! Everyone out of the house!"

I escape the hands of my prep team and rush to the front porch where Prim is.

"Time to go," she says breathlessly. I nod and we hold hands as we quickly walk down the steps. My prep team and my mother, in a fresh blue dress, come behind us.

We walk out of Victor's Village and I look to my right. I can see the Hawthornes coming. Hazelle is clutching Posy's small hand. On the other side of Hazelle is Gale, whose face is set. I can barely read his face, but I know that expression means anger.

Behind him is Rory and Vick, and all of them are wearing their Reaping clothes. Hazelle is wearing her best dress as Peacekeepers come up behind them. I didn't realize they'd be rounded up like that. I remember Effie now saying that she was sending Peacekeepers over to collect their baggage. I wish she had come out of the mayor's house and said that yesterday. I could have told Gale.

I look to my left, and I can see out of the corner of my eye Haymitch. He's walking begrudgingly out of his house and is taking up the rear of our group. I see at the house over that Peeta's prep team is coming out of his house. They walk down the stairs and walk, hands out like they're going to have to grab something even though nothing's there, carefully to the gate opening.

After them I see Peeta emerge out of his house. He's wearing a blue polo and a tan pair of pants and his tousled hair is wet. He turns and closes and locks his door and then comes down the stairs. As he walks to the open gate, we share a glance. He looks confused and hurt and I look indifferent and I wish I wouldn't. It isn't his fault, and yet it is. It was his idea for the star-crossed lovers, but he ended up saving our lives by doing it.

Ugh. I hate the world.

We all merge into one group of people and we walk down the road toward the Merchant part of District 12 where the train station is located.

We get a few stares as we walk. It's hard not to; we're a bunch of Seam people, Capitol citizens and Peacekeepers. We're just so strange that if I saw us pass by, I'd stare.

We pass the mayor's house, and I look carefully, trying to see if I can spot Madge through the curtainless windows; I don't see her until we've nearly passed the house. I spot her in the corner window, nodding to me with a wave. I nod back and she disappears.

Bye, Madge.

We come along to the train station, and I can see the Mellarks coming from the bakery. Mr. Mellark is locking up the doors and Peeta's brothers are walking on either side of his mother, who looks stingy and angry. The Mellarks are going to lose many days of business from having to go to the Capitol.

I gulp and we make it to the train station. There's tons of photographers and cameras are set up everywhere. No doubt they're going to be airing everything we do to ump the anticipation for the wedding in Panem. No doubt there'll be tons of citizens keeping an eye on the TV daily for news of the victors' wedding.

The Peacekeepers begin to surround us as more and more of them come out of nowhere. Once we get to the platform, Effie makes her way to the front where Prim and I are and she says excitedly, "Quick, you must get with Peeta."

Prim looks at me, scared, as Haymitch brings Peeta forward.

"C'mon, kid, you're in love, ACT LIKE IT," hisses Haymitch as Peeta bumps into me.

"Sorry," he mumbles.

"It's all right," I say. I bend down to Prim and say, "Go and stay with Mother, all right?"

"Okay," she says quickly, and she walks back to where our mother is.

I straighten and look straight into those Merchant blue eyes.

"Hi," he says.

"Hey," I say, and I offer him my hand. Might as well listen to Haymitch.

Holding hands, we turn around to face the crowd of people. There's people from the stores and houses coming to see what's going on as well.

I can see Haymitch in the crowd, making gestures with his hands near his face. I can't figure out what he means. Peeta notices and says, "Smile for the camera, sweetheart," and I feel myself growing a bit mad at him as I do so.

How I wish that this was over.

After several minutes pass, Effie says loudly, "Well, it's time for everyone to board the train!" She walks over to us, still smiling for the camera, and says, "Katniss, Peeta, I need you to stay put. The President is coming and he's going to greet you before he enters the car. All right?"

"Sounds fine, Effie," says Peeta, and she smiles even more brightly as she turns and ushers the Hawthornes, prep teams, my mother and Prim and Peeta's family into the train. Gale and Mrs. Mellark give me stony looks as they enter. I wish they wouldn't.

I watch as they enter and disappear into the train when suddenly everything grows quiet.

I turn quickly and see that the crowd has parted, Peacekeepers lining a path. More Peacekeepers are keeping those who are coming in from their houses and stores away as the President's car pulls up.

One of the train attendants gets out of the passenger seat of the front of the car and opens the door, and out steps President Snow, pristine in our dusty district.

My smile becomes weaker as he smiles and begins to walk toward the train. Every step that he takes gets him closer to us, and I squeeze Peeta's hand tighter.

He walks up the steps of the platform and turns to face us with his creepy smile. I can smell the roses on him. They smell revolting.

"Katniss, Peeta, right on time. Are you excited to be heading back to the magnificent Capitol?" he asks us.

"Very," says Peeta with a smile.

The President nods and says, "Very good, then. I offer you both my humblest congratulations."

I force myself to keep smiling as I sigh, "Thank you, sir." I laugh a little bit as I say, "I just can't believe I'm marrying Peeta, and in the Capitol too!" I smile harder and lean against Peeta's shoulder, almost giving him a side hug. He bends a little due to his artificial leg, but keeps us up straight.

Snow smiles harder and says, "I certainly hope you enjoy your wedding in our fair Capitol."

"I'll enjoy getting married anywhere as long as it's to Peeta," I say, and I give him a kiss on the cheek. I can feel him smile against my lips.

"Of course. It's been wonderful seeing your feelings grow for each other. We can't wait to see the wedding," continues Snow.

I smile even more brightly. "Neither can I."

Snow nods and after he waves to the cameras, he disappears into the train. I hope he goes to his car and stays there. I can't stand his face or his smell.

"We're going to move out now!" says Effie, who has a grip on Haymitch's arm, dragging him along. "Wave one last time then get in!"

We do as she says and then head into the train.

We lean against the wall as Effie shoves Haymitch in and then titters in herself. The door closes, and there's a very tiny jerk that's followed by tiny vibrations: the train is moving.

Effie claps her hands and says, "Let's head to the lounging car. Everyone else is in there."

I look to Peeta, and he has the same look on his face as I do. Neither of us want to go face our families and the Hawthornes. We're going to have to.

Peeta, still gently holding my hand, leads us to the lounging car, opening the door, and we slip inside.

Everyone's immediately staring at us. Effie doesn't care, for she's just smiling and walking off to the side. Haymitch, who's used to this sort of thing, gives everyone a lame wave and follows Effie, leaving everyone staring at Peeta and I.

I gulp and look from face to face. The prep teams, all siting in seats near the window, all have goofy looks on their faces, and their eyes are filled with tears at seeing us lovebirds.

I feel a wrench in my stomach as I look down the line. Hazelle is holding Posy on her lap; Rory and Vick, both slightly frowning, are sitting in seats next to hers. Gale is sitting near the window on the left side of the train, and he's watching the outside world run by. He's not even looking at us.

My mother has her face on, the one where her emotions are unreadable. Prim is sitting on her knee, her hands clasped loosely in front of her, her eyes darting about us two.

On the right side of the train, besides Effie and Haymitch, is Peeta's family. His brothers, Bryce and Cort, are standing toward the back, side by side, both blonde-haired and green eyed. His father, the gentle baker, is leaning against the windowed wall, one hand in his pocket, one on the shoulder of his wife, who's sitting in a seat and looking positively stiff. Her dark eyes are looking us both over, and I can tell she's despising us both.

She keeps her eyes mostly on me, as if telling me that this is my fault we're in this mess; that if I hadn't offered those berries she'd be selling bread and cookies in her bakery right now, not heading toward the government capital and her youngest son's wedding.

Things are getting uncomfortable. I look to Effie, hoping she'll say something, but she's smiling at me, gesturing for us to talk.

I don't know what to say. We all have to be wary of what we say in a bugged train with the President and tons of Peacekeepers in some cars over. I gulp and open my mouth, but fortunately, Peeta starts.

"Since we're all here, here's just a couple of things concerning meals. Lunch is at noon and dinner is going to be served at six and then breakfast is at eight. There's the dining car and then you'll get shown your own rooms. The attendants" Peeta sucks in a breath, "can help you when you ask them for something. Um, in the meantime, enjoy yourselves. I'd just like to say thank you, on behalf of Katniss and myself, for joining us." He smiles and then says, "You all can hang out in your rooms if you want to, until we eat."

He turns to me and says, "Feel a bit awkward at all?"

"You have no idea," I say without moving my lips. I turn from him and let go of his hand and say, "Hey, Prim, let's find your room, okay?"

She stands up and takes my hand and I take her out of the lounging car. Mrs. Mellark is still staring at me as the door closes.

I suck in a breath and Prim says, "This is getting a little scary, Katniss. Are there going to be any Avoxes?"

"Maybe," I say, sparing details. "Let's find your room."

We walk down the hall into the bedroom car and we find a room with her bag in it. Prim lets out a breath and says, "Are you okay, Katniss?"

"Peachy, Prim," I say in a soft voice. I bend down to her height and say, "Hey, look around your room. You like it?"

She looks around and see the blue bed and the big closet and bathroom. "Yes, I like it."

"Good," I smile. I pat her on the back and say, "I'll be back in a bit."

"Okay," she says, and I leave the room.

Closing the door behind me, I let out a breath. This is going to be a long train ride. Not only do I have to worry about the cameras listening to every conversation on this train, especially every one I have with everyone, there's the President of Panem who has sentenced Peeta and I to death (I just know that boy is going to volunteer for Haymitch, he's too good for his own good) in the next car, Gale and his entire family is here, GALE, and my and Peeta's families. I have never even talked to Peeta's brothers and his mother hates me. Perfect.

I straighten. Things aren't going to be pretty around here.

I look up toward the door to the lounging car and see Peeta coming toward me.

"Hey," he says.

"Hey," I say, and we stand there for a few minutes, looking out the windows, watching everything whiz by. After a bit, I sigh and say, "What are we going to do?"

"I'm not sure," says Peeta.

"I mean," I sigh and say in a quiet and hissing voice, "your mother hates me, Gale's mad at me, we're going to be surrounded by people from the Capitol, which we all HATE, we can barely talk about anything-"

"I'm sorry," Peeta says suddenly.

I wasn't expecting that.

"What?" I say. He doesn't have anything to apologize for.

"For making us the star-crossed lovers," he says in a soft voice. Oh, that. I suppose I do get mad at him for doing it, but I'm also a bit grateful for him doing it. If he hadn't, one of us would be dead. Then again, because he did, we're all in jeopardy. I'm not sure what to think at this point. Everything is confusing.

"You did what you had to for the Games," I say, which is true.

"But I didn't do it all for the Games. I did it also because I do love you, and now I think that I was just being selfish," he says.

I whip around and look straight at him. His soft blue eyes look hurt.

"Peeta Mellark, call yourself selfish one more time, and I won't kiss you until the wedding," I threaten. I turn to face him and say, "Peeta, you're the most unselfish person that ever lived in District Twelve. I don't appreciate you deprecating yourself, okay?"

I put on a dark look and after a minute he says, "All right."

I smile and say softly, "Remember, you've had your warning."

He smiles back at me, a smile sweet and genuine. Just like the one he had given me last year.

I reach out and take his hand. It's soft and supple. I turn to the window and say, "Let's get one last look out before we have to go survive our relatives."

"Okay, Katniss," he says quietly, and we watch the world go by. It goes as fast as our free lives.

I suddenly realize something. The next time I board this train, I'm going to be married.

At least it's Peeta I'm marrying.

**There you go, my lovies! Yay, long chapter! I hope you liked it, and please, review!**


	3. IT'S DA CAPITOL!

**Thank you, God, for everything. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Hunger Games. UPDATEY TIME!  
**

I spend the afternoon watching the woods and everything I've known fly away. Many people pass myself and Peeta in the hallway, who sits with me, holding my hand. Cort and Bryce explore, giving us nods of acknowledgement. Mr. Mellark gives us a quick smile while Mrs. Mellark gives us wicked looks as they walk past us. My mother goes to help Prim; Hazelle gives us a weak smile as she passes us with Posy and Rory and Vick.

I see neither Haymitch, Effie or Gale until supper, where we all gather in the dining car to partake in the food. Effie's chipper as the attendants leave the room, leaving the buffet huge and colorful.

There's all of our prep teams and the Hawthornes and Peeta and his family and my family and Haymitch and Effie and so the dining car is crowded with twenty one people. Most of the adults are sitting around the dining table while the prep teams are whispering to each other in a corner. The rest of us are sitting on the refreshment counter and the lounging chairs.

I sit next to Peeta on the counter, both of our pairs of legs swinging around childishly. I need to stay with him; I don't know why. I feel like everything isn't so heavy on my shoulders when I'm with him.

"So, are you two happy now?" Startled, I look up to see Mrs. Mellark staring at us two, looking annoyed and dark as usual.

"What?" I say, unsure of what she means.

"You two are finally getting married, and in the Capitol, no less!" Mrs. Mellark spits. "I'm sure that you're happy now!"

"Dear . . ." Mr. Mellark says, putting his hand on her wrist.

"Let me go, Dalton!" shrieks Mrs. Mellark in anger, wrestling her wrist quickly out of his grasp. "I can do what I want!"

"Yelling at her is not going to change anything," says Mr. Mellark.

"Yeah, and I bet Peeta's happy about it," spits Mrs. Mellark. She stands up and looks to us, saying, "Enjoy your Seam brat, Peeta!"

Gale throws his fork at the floor just as she disappears out of the door. He has an angry look on his face, being mad because Seam is used as an insult in the Village and because she insulted me.

Mr. Mellark gets up and whispers, "Sorry," to me before he heads after his storming wife.

I make a face and look down at my plate. Usually, I'm not bad with insults; didn't I get insulted by her before? I feel the shame now because everyone, including my adoring prep team and dear Prim, is watching us.

Peeta puts an arm around me and whispers so that only I can hear, "You didn't do anything wrong."

I lift my head up and say, "I know."

"Don't listen to her; her words mean nothing. She's an angry person. Just don't listen to her; that's what I do," says Peeta gently.

I nod and say, "Let's eat dessert now."

Peeta watches me as I fall lightly off of the counter and head to the dessert bar. Everyone looks at each other as I load my plate with blue pastries and sweet berries. After that, everyone begins to eat dessert, and the atmosphere gets less tense.

Mr. Mellark comes in after a few minutes, looking a little weary, saying that Mrs. Mellark is resting.

I think she's probably cursing me in their bedroom.

* * *

I'm tossing and turning in my bed. Sweat is all over my barely clad body, and I'm panicking. My dream is so real; I'm married at the Capitol, and myself and Peeta are at the reception party. We're about to cut the cake with cameras watching us when suddenly Prim and my mother appear, both looking tired and weary and limp.

I see them and gathering my skirts, try to get to them, but Haymitch shoves myself and Peeta together to slice the cake. I frantically push down on Peeta's hand on the cake knife and we slice into the cake. Instead of cake and filling, though, out pours blood.

I gasp and step back away from the pouring blood. I look up to see my mother and Prim have disappeared. I frantically gather my skirts and start running to where they had been, but I'm being pulled back. My prep team and Mrs. Mellark and Effie and Snow are pulling on my shoulders, back and dress, keeping me from my family, all saying with squeaky voices to come back, Mrs. Mellark yelling insults at me for daring to marry her son.

I scream, curse at those pulling my dress, and scream for my mother and Prim. I look around. Peeta's gone as well. Where is he? Where's my boy with the bread?

Where's my dandelion?

I wake up, but I don't bolt awake. I wake up flat against the pillows, my eyes searching the lifeless ceiling.

I instantly sit up, my tank soaked in sweat, my shorts sticking to my body. I look around the quiet room and with a little gasp, I get up. Peeta didn't sleep with me tonight; we didn't want his mother to catch wind of us sleeping in the same bed.

I grab a robe that's in the closet, tie it on, and slip out the door. I need to find him. I need him.

The hall's empty, but there's a soft light coming from the dining car. Curious and trying not to think of my nightmare, I open the door to the dining car. To my surprise, there's nearly everyone Bryce and under, all sitting all about the room.

Cort and Bryce, both wearing tan shorts and green shirts, are sitting quietly around the dining table. Gale is on the other side of the room. Posy is sitting on Gale's lap and Peeta is standing against the back wall. All are holding cups and Posy is nibbling on a cookie. Vick and Rory and Prim must still be in bed; I'm glad at least some of us can get some sleep.

I hold my robe closer and say uncertainly, "Why are y'all here?"

"We didn't want to go to sleep," says Gale, who is avoiding looking at Peeta and his brothers, who he considers upper class men and therefore people to be ignored.

"What's your excuse?" asks Cort from the table.

"Same," I say, which is the truth. I meet eyes with Peeta, and his gentle eyes guess the nightmares. He begins to look a bit sad, knowing that if he was there, he would have been able to comfort me. He pats a seat next to him and I cross the room and sit next to him. I lean against him and he wraps an arm around me, trying to tell me he's there and trying to help me. I lean against him, trying to tell him he doesn't have to feel bad for not being there.

I look over to the cups and such and say, "What's that?"

"Hot chocolate." I smile and he continues, "Want some?"

"Sure," I say, and I sit up as Peeta gets up and starts to get me a cup. I see Gale glaring out of the corner of my eye. It's a bit strange seeing him look so mad while Posy is innocently munching on a cookie on his lap.

Peeta walks back over and hands me the cup. I nod a thanks to him and we get back into position. I take a sip of the warm liquid. It's sweet and runs down my throat like silk.

Peeta's moving around a bit to get comfy when Bryce speaks up and says, "So, it's not an act, then?"

"What?" I say, looking past Peeta, who leans against the wall so that I can fully see Bryce. He's the oldest of the Mellark boys. He has a small goatee and his hair is cut short. He's built a lot like Peeta, but has green eyes instead of blue.

"You two are actually in love, like in the Games?" he says quietly. He says this in a tone that doesn't sound like he's accusing me like his mother; instead, he sounds like he's accepted it already and is just trying to get it confirmed.

"That's a bit up for debate at the moment." I whirl around to look at Gale. He waves a hand and says, "She hasn't exactly been up to the idea."

"What do you mean?" says Cort, who looks up from his hot chocolate. He squints his eyes at Gale and says, "What do you mean by that?"

I look between the two and I realize I don't know if Gale knows Cort's name. Cort probably knows Gale's, for he had been interviewed for my Games. Peeta had told me Cort's and Bryce's names when I had come to the bakery the first time after the Games. Peeta had been at the sales counter, trying to help his parents. He had greeted me with a slight enthusiasm but that was it, because he knew that I didn't return his love.

"Gale, this is Cort," I point a finger at Cort, "and Bryce," and the second brother gives Gale a gesture of recognition, though nothing more.

"Katniss doesn't exactly love Mr. Baker here," says Gale, nodding his head toward Peeta.

"Hey, don't call my brother that," Cort says bracingly.

"She's been making it up," says Cort, turning to look at me. "I knew that since the Games, but I was hoping that you might start to like Peeta back. Course you're just doing this to kiss up to Snow."

I find myself growing annoyed as I choose my words carefully; this car must be bugged. But then, I think, so what? As long as we don't give hint of a rebellion, we can say whatever the hell we want to.

"I'm not kissing up to the President," I say, "I'm trying to make sure that things in Panem stay the same."

"And marrying my little brother is the way to do that?" Cort asks me in a tight, fast voice.

"Yeah, yeah it is," I spit.

Peeta has this confused and worried look on his face as he says, "Hey, Cort, it's okay, you don't need to -"

"Peeta, she's marrying you even though she doesn't love you. She's playing with you, Peeta, and she's not exactly thinking of your feelings while doing so," spits Cort. He starts to look angry as he says, "She's just acting!"

"Cort-" Bryce begins.

"Shut up, Bryce, you're sounding like Dad." Cort gets up and says, "Look, don't try to act like you love him when you don't." He looks angry as he says, pointing a finger at me, "I'm not going to act like Mom and say you shouldn't get married; do what you want, but, Katniss - don't lie to him," and he crosses the room and Bryce half gets up as he slams the door.

We all sit in silence for a moment before Gale stands up, letting Posy slid gently off of his lap.

"C'mon, Posy, let's get some sleep," he says as she grabs his hand. He looks over to me with sad and betrayed eyes before he says to nobody in particular, "Good night."

He leads Posy out and it's just me and Peeta and Bryce. Me being the only one that sticks out in the small group of blonds.

"You shouldn't judge Cort," says Bryce slowly.

"I'm not," I say. I sigh slightly and say, "He's right. I'm not exactly sure my heart is into this." I turn to Peeta, who's looking tired, and say, "It's not your fault, though, Peeta. You just can't force someone to love someone."

"I know," he whispers, and I lean against him, my hot chocolate in my hand, long forgotten.

After a few minutes, Bryce stands up, leaving his cup on the table.

"I'm going to be getting to bed," he says. He looks to us two and says, "Congratulations, though. I-I hope you are a little happy."

I know Peeta will be slightly happy in the center of his heart. The rest of him will feel sad and mad at himself for marrying me, making me unhappy. I won't be as unhappy as he thinks I will be, though, because Peeta thinks that he's the one that's ruining my life and he's not. Snow is and I want to strangle him because of it.

Bryce leaves us two in the soft orange light of the Capitol dining car. I put the cup on the floor and after a moment, we sink down to the floor. We settle on the floor, leaning against each other. My bed is softer than this floor, but I would rather be here with Peeta, where I feel calmer than I would in bed.

"Was it a bad one tonight?" he says quietly after a moment. He waves a hand around and says, "You know, one that sticks out above the rest."

"The usual," I say quietly, "Mother and Prim disappeared and people from the Capitol were keeping me away from them." After a moment, I whisper and say, "Your mother was helping them."

Peeta puts a hand on my lap and his graceful fingers reach for my hand. He infolds his large hand around my smaller one and whispers, "I'm so, so sorry. I told her yesterday that none of this was your fault-"

"But it was. The berries, Peeta."

"But the idea of the wedding wasn't yours. Snow is forcing us. She just doesn't understand that -"

"She's always hated me, Peeta, and you too, frankly," I say bitterly.

"Katniss-"

"Peeta, you don't need to defend her. You don't need to protect me from her."

After a moment, he says very quietly, "But I'm still so, so sorry, Katniss."

"I know you are, Peeta," I say quietly, and I reach up and kiss him on the cheek before I settle back down to tell him that I understand how sorry he is and that he doesn't need to keep apologizing for his mother.

I close my eyes and relax a bit against Peeta's sturdy frame. I feel myself slipping into unconsciousness against Peeta and forget to tell him that he was in my nightmare too, as one of the people I love and don't want to disappear.

* * *

"Peeta! Katniss!" is what I hear the first thing this morning. My eyelashes flutter as I open my eyelids to see Effie Trinket standing before us, looking perfectly plastic as usual in gold.

I groan and remember that Peeta and I fell asleep leaning against each other in a sitting position on the floor in the dining car of the Capitol train with the President a few cars away.

I pull my arms out of position and attempt to get into a better sitting position as Peeta wakes up and looks at me, startled. I groan and say sardonically, "Effie wants us up, Peeta."

"Do we have to?" he says quietly beside me.

I look up to the expectant Effie, who's tapping the gold watch she has on her wrist.

"Apparently," I say grumpily as I slowly stand up.

I dust myself off and stretch a bit and Peeta stands up, doing the same, though not as much as me.

"I suggest that you two get dressed for breakfast. We'll be in the Capitol in less than an hour!" Effie claps her hands together bracingly and says, "Today is going to be a big, big, big day!"

"Thought so," I hear Peeta say as we go to the door and head into one of the bedroom cars.

We stop in the middle of the hallway and he says, "Well, I'll see you in the dining car, then."

"Yeah," I say, and he looks like he wants to say something else, but he instead just nods and heads to his bedroom, which is right next to mine.

I watch him close his door before I head into my own bedroom. I wonder what he thinks of our night. It wasn't our usual in bed, cuddling sort of thing. It was more of a . . . tired, steady affair of some sorts.

I sigh as I tear into my closet, hurrying to get into something before my prep team does something to me. I wonder what my and Peeta's relationship is now. I honestly don't know what to make of it. Marrying him . . . isn't something that I wanted. It was not something that I was particularly looking forward to. A sick feeling started to fill my stomach as I shrugged on a gold colored blouse.

There's nothing I can do. I just have to roll with whatever President Snow wants me to do or he'll hurt my family.

I want to strangle him. Snow, I mean, not Peeta. Ruining my life is just something he does on the side of what he does to everyone else's lives.

With a slight snarl, I assemble my hair, put on tan pants and head out of my room.

I enter the dining car to see people eating breakfast. My prep team is shrieking over me, whispering to each other what they'll do once we actually enter the Capitol. I see Gale look at them with a look of disdain before he turns back to his breakfast.

Effie compliments me in her squeaky voice, "Oh, dressing in gold already! So am I; couldn't help myself!" She fluffs up her dark yellow tinted wig and says excitedly, "Like your pin, of course!"

I smile falsely and wince. Wearing all gold is not going to help us make President Snow think I'm listening to him.

I ignore the looks of Mrs. Mellark and Cort as I eat breakfast near my mother, Prim, Peeta and Haymitch. These last two I sit next to. These are the two I can act myself around, and what's sad is that I used to say that about Gale. After the Games, our friendship was never the same, and the kiss he gave me only confirmed it.

I look over to Gale, who's by the buffet, looking at everything with a glare. Everything was made in the Districts, but is used by the Capitol. He hates everything in this train except his family and my mother and Prim and myself. Even then, I don't know what he makes of me right now.

There's a pot of hot chocolate in front of us; I pour some into a cup for myself and another for Prim.

"What is it?" she says as I pass it over to her.

"It's a sweet drink, little duck," I say. I point to her roll and say, "You eat your roll with it."

Prim nods slowly and tries it. She nods in approval.

I smile and look faintly around the table and see Haymitch looking through the window. I straighten and look out as well.

"We're there, sweetheart," he says gruffly as he turns back to his toast and stew and marmalade. He hadn't found any alcohol on the train; he hasn't been in a glorious mood as of late.

I stand up, as does many others. Vick, Rory and Prim race to the opposite side of the car and look out the window. I look over to Gale, who's not looking like he wants to see the Capitol anytime soon, and then to Peeta, who's looking at me, his face mixed as he butters a piece of bread. Hard grain. District 12 bread.

Flavius says excitedly, "We're nearly there!"

"Oh, I can barely wait!" says Octavia.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the candy coated Capitol," spits Haymitch. He looks over to me and gives me a half-hearted grim smile as he says sarcastically, "And may the odds be _ever _in your favor."

"No chance of that here, Haymitch," I tell him as we pass the candy colored apartments and skyscrapers. Suddenly the sights are cut off by grey.

"What happened?" wonders Rory.

"We're in the train station," says Peeta, standing up.

We're immediately greeted with hundreds of citizens. There's cameramen and photographers and reporters and everyone is going crazy, falling over each other. Prim looks alarmed and my mother looks faint. Gale looks even more hostile and both of Peeta's brothers look taken back.

Effie stands so that everyone can face her and claps her hands to get our attention. She explains what we must do, which involves us racing to the cars being surrounded by Peacekeepers. I can tell by the anxious look on her face she's nervous; none of us have particularly gussied ourselves up, except for herself and the prep teams, of course.

My mother and Prim go first. They dash out; the Peacekeepers who were in the Capitol have already marked off a path for us to run to the cars. People are making the path even more narrow, though. They scream excitedly when I see Prim disappear; she's the sweetheart of the nation. I'm scared that she'll get hurt.

Next is the Hawthornes. Gale doesn't run. He merely takes big steps and keeps a poker face as he holds Posy in his arms, taking up the rear of his family train.

The prep teams go quickly and then Haymitch, who merely waves to everyone as usual, though not meaning a single gesture, as usual.

Next goes Peeta's family. Mr. Mellark puts on a small smile as he rushes past with his wife, who is fuming, and Cort and Bryce take long steps after their parents.

Effie claps excitedly as they disappear and she says, "Oh, you two are next!"

I gulp, my face devoid of emotions. I know THAT, Effie.

I have to convince everyone we're the star-crossed lovers. This is no doubt going to be shown on TV to build up for the wedding. Last night, we watched our arrival onto the train. Funny how things could move so quickly for the Capitol.

Effie suddenly pushes us forward, and Peeta takes my hand.

"We can do this," he says quietly.

"I know," I say, and I leap, taking Peeta with me, down the small stairs to the ground.

I start to grin madly as I raise our joined hands and run to the car, Peeta next to me, Peacekeepers around us. The sound of the people is deafening now. People are climbing on top of other people to get a good look of us.

I can hear Peeta's breathing as we slip into the car. We pant as we slide across the leather seats, letting go of our clasped hands. My breathing gets heavy as I see Effie nimbly enter the car before she says, "Hurry! Close the door!"

The door closes and I hurriedly push a button that puts shades on the windows. I don't want to see so many scary clowns watching me.

Peeta's next to me, his hands over his ears.

"They're loud," he yells.

"I know," I yell back.

"That was brilliant! Right on schedule!" says Effie excitedly as she looks at her clipboard.

I nod and the car starts off slowly, for there are many people in the street.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

Effie looks up and says, "Oh, we're going to the Training Center. The President actually came up with the idea, since you were both Victors and you both first started doing things together there, it'll be so incredibly symbolic!"

Oh, yes. The Training Center. It has plenty of room and the Capitol citizens should be getting a kick out of us staying there for our days before the wedding. I frown slightly, remembering how Peeta and I had spent time together in the train before the Games. Sure, I hated him then, but still. Then there was the parade. Us spending time together for the first time in the Training Center is a lie.

"Symbolic," says Peeta. He looks over to me and our eyes meet for a moment. Still watching my face, I can feel his hand reaching out to hold mine. I let him take my hand in his. Already, just us going back to the Training Center, is getting us on the edge of our seats, and we're not even the audience.

We head to the Training Center, passing through the City Center. I roll down a shade to peek out a window. I see the President's car heading to his mansion. Good. I'm glad I won't have to see him for nearly a week.

I see the other cars heading to the Center. Part of me is very glad that the Capitol didn't plan some sort of parade or something with us arriving at the Capitol. It sounds like something they would do, and I'm vaguely surprised that they didn't.

The car door opens as the car stops. Effie slips out first and then beckons to Peeta and I to hurry after her. Peeta gets out first and then I follow him, still holding his hand. We don't leap now. We merely smile politely as we walk down the path to the door to the Center. I can see my mother and Prim watching me. My mother looks faint and Prim looks a little overwhelmed and shocked. Cameras are focusing on her as much as us, and the crowd can be heard screaming, "PRIM!" just as much as, "KATNISS! PEETA!"

As soon as Peeta and I are near the door, everyone files inside. Once the cameras are out of sight near the elevators, I instantly let go of Peeta's hand and rush to Prim. I hold her close, and I can tell she's shaking.

"It's okay, it's okay, Prim," I say as Effie goes about telling everyone what floor they should go to.

My mother, Prim, the Mellarks, Haymitch, Effie and Peeta and I are getting the 12th floor. The penthouse. Brilliant. Snow must think he's so clever. The Hawthornes and the prep teams are getting 11's level. A slight lump grows in my throat. Rue's floor. I wonder if she was alive now what she would think of all this.

With the people for my floor in the elevator with me, I look out as the doors close. I see Gale looking at me, and I instantly feel mad at him. Why must he look at me like that? THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO, GALE. WHY. I have to talk to him before this wedding. Make him understand. I take a deep breath. I have to.

The elevator zooms up, Effie bouncing on her heels, Prim shirking against me, Peeta watching everyone protectively.

The doors open and we enter the penthouse; it's instant déjà vu. There's the same dining room table, strange chairs, buffet, living room with the many soft places to sit, the large screen TV, the windows overlooking the Capitol.

"Here is where we shall be living for the duration of your time in the Capitol," Effie says excitedly, stepping out in front of everyone so that she can be seen. She smiles happily and continues, "I'll show you to your rooms."

We all start to walk around. There's a room for Mrs. and Mr. Mellark, one for Peeta and his brothers, one for myself and Prim, one for my mother and the usual two for Effie and Haymitch. Thinking of it now, I realize that there's a lot of people here on account of me.

"Well, I'll leave you all to freshen up. We'll meet here for lunch!" Effie tells us, and she goes and heads into her own room.

The Mellarks except for Peeta disappear into their rooms and Prim turns her head to look up at me.

"This is a bit scary, Katniss," she whispers.

"Hey," I say, bending down to her height, "it's okay. Nobody's going to get hurt." That's a lie. I'll be hurting Peeta by marrying him when I'm not in love with him. If we don't do this right, people will be getting hurt, maybe even my little sister. I'm hurting myself, knowing that I'm causing a lot of inconvenience and pain. I know I can't tell her this, so instead I give her a serious look and say, "Nobody's getting hurt."

"Okay," she says. I nod and brush some hair out of her face and then we hear a crash. Both of our heads turn to see the refreshment cart. Avoxes are already rushing to it along with Peeta.

"Stay," I say absentmindedly to Prim as I stand up and rush over to see what happened.

I frown instantly when I see that Haymitch had been rummaging through the cart, searching for alcohol. In the process, he has knocked over three bottles, or something of that amount, and there is glass and drink all over the floor.

Peeta is helping Haymitch stand up as the Avoxes immediately turn to clean up the mess.

"Haymitch," I say angrily. I'm mad at him. We had made a deal with Peeta; he stays sober until after the Quarter Quell. Now he's gone and tried to break the deal. Then again, I'm not too surprised by his actions. He's been more angry and annoyed and sarcastic lately; he's been steadily going a bit insane.

Haymitch looks at me while Peeta lets him go and heads to tell the Avoxes what to do. He scowls as he says, "Hey, sweetheart, do me a favor and leave me alone."

"We made a deal, Haymitch," I say firmly, "I'd rather you not break it."

He swears under his breath and I give him a look because Prim's near us. "Katniss, you've got your addiction and I've got mine. Take away your woods and you're dead; take away my liquor and everyone else around me is dead. Now, go and find me some ice."

I'm furious as I look at him. He's barely shaven and looks tired.

"Find your own damn ice, Haymitch," I say. I turn to Prim, whose eyes are wide, and say, "Peeta, c'mon." I stoop down to Prim and say, "Want to check a place out?"

"Sure. Where is it?" she says.

My eyebrows raise and she says incredulously, "Up? But Katniss, we're on the top floor."

I give her a small smile and she says, surprised, "The roof?"

"Yeah."

She bites her lip and says, "Can we all go up there? You know, just Peeta and his brothers. And Gale . . . and Vick and Rory . . . and Posy."

I nod and say, "Of course." It's actually a nice idea. Let us all breathe in the air on the roof, know that we don't have to deal with the Capitol for a few minutes.

I turn to Peeta and tell him and he looks at me softly and nods.

Within ten minutes, we're all on the roof. Peeta warns everyone of the force field, and we're all careful to avoid it. Cort watches me quietly, his eyes squinted, and Bryce looks a little apologetically to me. I sigh and realize that these two are going to be my brothers-in-law. Brilliant.

Gale has Posy on his shoulders so she can look over the wall of the roof to look through the force field and out to the Capitol. Rory and Prim look over together and Vick hangs near Gale. I'm next to Peeta and Gale, and the other two Mellark boys are a bit far from Gale.

The wind starts whipping around, making our conversations quiet. We speak quietly, just in case.

"It all looks so . . . fake," Gale says quietly as he looks out over the wall to the Capitol.

I nod slowly and look at the ground. I know that Gale was going to be negative on this trip, but he has to be careful. The Capitol could hear any word that he says, and there is also the fact that they love the star-crossed lovers and don't want them broken up. They know that Gale is my 'cousin,' but if he makes any moves, things will grow suspicious, and make it even harder for me to keep everyone thinking that Peeta and I are in love.

"Yeah," I hear Cort say. "It does."

"What's wrong with it?" asks Posy.

"Nothing really," says Vick. "It's just . . . . different. . ."

"Is different good?" Posy asks.

"Sometimes," says Gale, "but not right now."

At his words, I turn and look at Peeta. He has this knowing look in his eyes. I nod slowly. Gale's right. Different is nice, but not always welcome. We need things to be different right now.

**I hope you liked it and please, review! God bless you!  
**


	4. The Interview

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Hunger Games. Thankies for the reviews, you awesome people, and here's some more story for you to read! :)**

The next morning comes rolling around. I get dressed in my usual clothes and while sitting on the bed opposite Prim's, I watch her as she wipes gently at our father's old shaving mirror. She's done that every morning since he died. He hated the dust of our district, and so to remember him, she keeps his mirror clean. It's her way of making him a little proud, even if it is a small task.

"Prim," I say quietly, and she looks to me, her face still concentrated on cleaning the mirror. "Mind if I braid your hair?"

She shakes her head and she turns so that she's facing one of the side walls, her legs spread out straight on the bed. I walk over and stand over her, for this is the only way I can braid her hair now.

"You're getting tall," I say quietly as I start to brush her hair.

"Yeah," she says shyly, and she wipes at the mirror again.

I watch her as I brush and I suddenly have the urge to frown. Prim is getting really tall. She was just twelve years old last year, but she's already almost thirteen, and apparently going through a bit of a growth spurt. I wonder why I haven't noticed it before. I suddenly notice that some of her childish face is disappearing, getting replaced by strong cheekbones and a firmer chin.

I have never thought that Prim would be growing up. She is my little sister, my person who I care for and practically mothered. I look back at her hair and fiercely, but gently, begin to braid her hair into two braids. I don't want to think about how she's growing up. I just don't want to think about it. Too many things have happened and the thought of my little Prim being taken away is just something I don't want to deal with.

Once I'm done, I pat her head and say, "We should get to breakfast."

She nods and places the mirror gently onto her dresser before she follows me to the dining room.

Already my mother and Haymitch and Effie and the Mellarks have settled at the table. My mother gives me a faint smile and Peeta gives me a warm smile as we sit down. I load my plate with the wonderful lamb stew and bread and orange and blue melon while Prim eats toast and eggs.

Mrs. Mellark is on the other side of the table, thank goodness, but I can still feel her glare. Occasionally I look over to her, and we share a look for a few seconds before Mr. Mellark notices and chides Mrs. Mellark to stop. I roll my eyes and turn back to my food.

Effie looks over to me as I take another serving of stew and chirps pleasantly, "Oh, Katniss." I turn, having my attention caught, and she dabs at her mouth for a moment with a napkin before continuing, "Guess who's coming?"

"Who?" I say a little irritably. I hope that it's not going to be Capitol reporters or photographers or anything like that, or President Snow. Hopefully he can stay in his mansion and do his usual stupid things and leave me alone.

To my surprise (and Effie's), before Effie can reply, the door to our penthouse opens, and in comes Portia and Cinna. Portia skips slightly, clapping her hands lightly before stretching them out, saying, "Peeta!"

He stands and smiles and gives her a hug. I stand as well, for Cinna's closing the door and looking to me.

A real smile comes to my face as I say, "Cinna!"

"Katniss," he says in his calm voice as we bring the distance between us to nothing but a couple of inches as we hug.

Cinna. This is who I need. The one Capitol citizen who is not crazy or diluted or out to kill me. My one true friend. He's who I need to talk to, and hopefully, we'll have an opportunity to talk sometime doing my prolonged stay in the Capitol.

We break up and Effie stands, clapping her hands excitedly as she says, "Oh, goodness! Here already!"

"We had to get here as soon as possible, it's scheduled for eleven!" says Portia, who has separated from Peeta.

Effie's eyes grow wide and she acts flustered as she says, "Eleven? Oh goodness, I thought it was eleven-thirty!"

"No, sorry, Effie," says Portia.

I look, my face concerned, back to Cinna and say hurriedly, "What's at eleven?" I want to also ask, "Why anyone hasn't told me anything!" but I keep my mouth shut.

Cinna keeps cool as he says, "You and Peeta have a scheduled live interview with Caesar Flickerman at eleven because of your big news." He smiles sadly and says, "Congratulations, by the way." I can tell by his tone and the smile on his face that he's not that happy about all this.

My heart pounds. I should have expected an interview, but for some reason, I take this shockingly hard. Though it's not unheard of for the Capitol to have interviews with people on TV at other times of the year besides anything that has to do with the Hunger Games, my stomach falls and I feel no longer hungry.

A live interview? Just like the one Peeta and I had after the Games. I was horrible then. I'm still horrible now. I still have to act very much in love with Peeta, and the thing is I'm still going to have to act in love with him. Acting smiley and holding hands in public is not that bad. It's the talking I'm worried about. Practically everything that comes out of my mouth is vague or spiteful.

Portia claps her hands, thought not as much as Effie, and says calmly, "Peeta, Katniss, we have to talk you to get ready now so that you both will be ready for camera by eleven."

"Of course," says Peeta brightly. He turns to our table and says, "You're going to have to excuse us." He looks to me and I nod, and the two of us and our stylists head out of the penthouse and into the elevator.

I turn to Cinna as Portia presses in the button and I say, "Cinna, why weren't we informed of this earlier?"

Cinna sighs softly and says, "Effie apparently never told you. Apparently, she's supposed to have you two on a need-to-know basis."

"Meaning?" I say.

"It means that she's only going to tell you what things you have to do a couple hours beforehand," says Portia. I look over to her and she says quietly, "The President told his attendants who told Effie who told us."

"Well, she forgot to mention it," I grumble. I'm already annoyed with everything and not being informed about stuff ahead of time is not helping me. What is the President doing, keeping us on a need-to-know basis? Is he making sure that we are always on edge, always ready to be on TV if we need to be? That is bound to be the reason, and I'm not too happy about it.

"She was telling us at breakfast when Portia and Cinna came in," points out Peeta. I look over to him, and he's over on Portia's right side. I can barely see him as he says, "She WAS going to tell us, just not as quickly as we thought."

I turn and face the elevator doors as we go down and they open.

We leave the building and get into a small car. Not as luxurious as I thought the Capitol's cars would be.

"We don't want too much attention to be drawn to us," explains Cinna as we settle into the leather seats. "We wouldn't want to be mobbed like you were yesterday."

I nod and Peeta smiles, "Yeah, that would be bad."

We drive to the building where Caesar Flickerman is the host of his show. We get out at the back door to avoid Capitol citizens and go inside.

I'm immediately greeted by my prep team, who are squealing and falling over me like they haven't seen me in days. I know why they're so excited: they finally get to work on me.

"Oh, I can't wait to do your hair!" says Octavia, the most emotional of the three.

"I claim your nails!" says Flavius, his orange curls bouncing.

"We'll take good care of her, Cinna," says Venia, the most mature one, as they lead me to the elevator.

I make eye contact with Cinna and he gives me this calm look that says, "See you later."

I give him a nod of understanding and the elevator doors cut us off.

I get my usual strip down wash. My skin gets scrubbed, hard. I didn't know that my birds were that strong. They rip the hair off of me, brush and pull my scalp hair after coating it with lotions and shampoos and conditioners and moisturizers. I smell like a heavy floral garden, and I shiver and shove away the rose scented shampoo they're about to put on me.

My nails are shaped and filed nicely and all the scratches and bruises I've acquired vanish with a single drop from a bottle of clear liquid Venia uses. This is a new addition; the Capitol must have just come up with it.

My prep team talk as they take care of me. They're awfully proud of the fact that they'll be helping me AND intending my wedding. They talk of how jealous their friends will be and how exciting it will be.

"I mean, I just can't believe that after all you've been through, you're marrying Peeta!" says Octavia, a bit of emotion in her voice like she's holding back tears.

"No crying, Octavia, we promised to not cry!" reminds Flavius, "besides, your makeup will run!"

Octavia nods and they finish me up without anymore crying.

I enter a room wearing a white, soft robe, and I realize that it's the same room I had been in last year. How symbolic. How clever.

Another door opens and in walks Cinna, and I immediately rush to him and give him a tight hug.

"Nice to have you back, Girl on Fire," he smiles as I stand back.

"Cinna, I have to talk to you," I say as we both take our seats.

"Is it about clothes or your wedding?" he asks, his fingers all touching together lightly.

"My wedding. How is it being told about here in the Capitol?" I ask him.

"It's being called the wedding of the year. It's been said that you and Peeta came up with the idea and contacted the President about it, which I know is simply not true." Cinna looks back at me and I almost feel like he knows everything I know.

"It's not true," I say, "Snow is forcing Peeta and I to get married in order for the nation to not rebel because of the berries." I feel like I can trust Cinna with this information. Even though he's a Capitol citizen, he understands me.

"But how does that make the nation not want to rebel when you're dead?" asks Cinna. He looks at me with sympathetic eyes and he says, "Katniss, I know that Snow is not going to want you to come out of that arena alive."

"I know," I say, "I'll most likely get killed by the Gamemakers." Cinna has a point. Snow wants me gone, and it'll make sense for me to get killed in the Hunger Games. After all, 24 go in and only 1 comes out. I only hope that the 1 that comes out is Peeta.

Cinna nods understandingly and then says in a brighter tone, "Anything else, Katniss?"

I sigh, knowing that there's so much to discuss but we're pressed for time. "Yes. What am I going to be wearing for the interview?"

He smiles and says, "Glad you asked."

We head to the dressing room for the interviews and I can tell that Haymitch has Cinna still playing the innocent in love girl angle for me. I wear a light pink dress instead of a dark pink, and I wear almost silly earrings and bracelets. They're not silly in the Capitol's eyes, but they are to me. They're not elegant jewels or silver or pearl or gold. They're instead glass. I have pink hearts hanging from my ears and lumps of smooth glass stringed into bracelets.

"They're lumpy, like coal," says Cinna, putting the bracelets on me. I smile when he points that out.

"Five minutes!" yells Effie as she appears in one door before she closes it.

"So," Cinna says after a moment. He attaches the earrings to my ears and says, "Are you happy about marrying Peeta?"

I never noticed so many people cared for my happiness. Hazelle, Madge, and now Cinna. Frankly, I'm getting a little tired of the question, because the answer is always long and complicated and it changes every time.

"A bit," I say, "but I'm not happy about the fact that we're being forced into something like this."

Cinna nods sympathetically and I sigh, "Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about it."

Cinna nods and says, "I'm sorry." That's what I like about Cinna. He doesn't make me feel any worse or tell me things are going to be better. Like Rue, I know he's not going to lie to me. He just takes what I say and lets me procrastinate to someone, which is him.

I step into pink sandals and we head to the interview stage. It's the same one that they've been using for every single interview since the beginning of the Games, though, like last year after the Games, it's set up to be in a more intimate setting. Caesar's chair is near to our loveseat. I wonder what they'll do with that loveseat after one of us is dead in the Games. Bring one of us back once in a while and have us sit in it to remind us of the one gone?

I take my seat on the right and Cinna says, leaning toward me, "Remember. Smile."

I smile at his words and say, "Thanks, Cinna."

"No problem, Katniss," he says, and he goes and walks off the stage the same time I see Peeta approach with Portia.

He looks smart, dressed up in a romantic looking black suit. No doubt to add subtly to the idea of coal.

He smiles and takes a seat next to me after Portia gives him a slight peck on the cheek.

"Hey," he says.

"Hey," I say. I look around and say, "I guess we're back in the saddle again, huh?"

Peeta nods and says, turning to me, "Ready?"

"Not really," I say. I sigh and say, "I'm not good with words. You, you on the other hand." I turn to him, "You're brilliant."

"You're not that bad," he tells me.

"Have you seen my other interviews?" I ask him.

He laughs quietly and says, "I guess you're right."

"Yeah," I say. I look around and at all the people setting up the cameras and lights and say, "How long is this interview going to be? You know at all?"

"Not a clue," he says. He smiles and says, "Just smile and only answer questions when they're directed to you. That's what you did last time."

I'm not sure if my strategy worked last time, but I nod, for it's the only thing I know how to do. Answer questions when asked and act in love. I don't know if I do it correctly, but I know how to do it, kind of.

I suddenly look up when I see Effie running past us, yelling, "Two minutes!"

I see Caesar Flickerman on the right side of the stage, getting powdered and prepped. He laughs as a microphone is pressed into his hand. He's wearing his classic blue suit that he's been wearing for decades and my stomach contracts a little when I see that his wig is powdered gold.

"Seems like everyone got the pin memo," says Peeta, for he sees Caesar too.

I nod and say, "I wish they wouldn't."

"Haven't you heard?" asks Peeta. I turn to him and shake my head. He sighs and says, "Apparently, your mockingjay pin has become so popular here that everyone is wearing them."

"What?" I say incredulously.

"They're a fashion statement, whatever that means. Portia pointed them out to me as we made our way here," says Peeta. He points to a cameraman and says, "See?"

I squint and see a bit of gold on the man's shirt.

"Can I strangle them all?" I ask, leaning to Peeta so that only he can hear me.

He shakes his head. "Nah. There's too many."

I smile at his trying to make me feel better and I see the head cameraman yell, "Ten seconds!"

I turn, horrified, to Peeta and say, "We don't know what to do!" They haven't told us to be in any positions or which cameras to look at or anything.

"We'll have to wing it," says Peeta, and Claudius Templesmith announces on an intercom just as I see the red light of the cameras go on, "Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce your lovely host, Caesar Flickerman!"

A round of applause sounds as Caesar, smiling, waves and heads to his chair. The place is practically empty. The clapping is recorded. Couldn't get too many semi-civilized people up this early, and the people outside would clobber us if they got near us.

"Ahh, yes, and welcome! We're here today with the previous victors of the famous 74th Hunger Games!" says Caesar as he sits in his chair. He shoots us a warm smile and says, "I hear that you two have some very exciting news."

"Yes, Caesar, as a matter of fact, we do," says Peeta, and I lean against him as he smiles, "We're getting married!"

"Married? My goodness! Congratulations! I knew you had in it you to propose!" says Caesar with a laugh to Peeta.

Peeta nods, still smiling, and says, "Well, after winning the Games and knowing just how much she cares about me, I finally found the courage."

"And you obviously said 'Yes,' Katniss," continues Caesar, looking at me.

I smile like a little girl and looking to Peeta, I say, "Of course I said yes. How could I refuse?"

"I'll tell you both something right now, Katniss and Peeta, and it's that myself and everyone in Panem is so happy for the two of you," says Caesar. I'm not too sure of that as Gale, Cort and Mrs. Mellark flash in my head. "Congratulations to you both, from myself and everyone here at the Capitol, and from everyone in Panem!"

"Thank you, thank you," says Peeta, and I nod enthusiastically with a meek, "Thank you."

"Now, Peeta, this is a question for you," says Caesar, shifting slightly in his seat. He leans forward and says, "How did you manage to get her mother's permission?"

A recorded tape of an audience laughing plays and Peeta smiles until it stops and he can say, "Her mother accepted the idea the moment she heard about it." That was true. My mother reacted a bit, but she knew there was nothing she could do, so she accepted it.

"That's great. So her family approves?" asks Caesar.

Peeta hesitates a moment before he says, "I think so. They're really excited about it."

"Even little Prim? How is she doing, Katniss?" I remember. Prim, the sweetheart of Panem. I sit up slightly and say, "She's doing fine, Caesar."

"She's happy about you getting married?"

"Yes," and after a second, I add, "especially since she gets to be my bridesmaid!" I never thought of it before, but Effie had filled us in on the wedding traditions in the Capitol at dinner in the train. It includes something called a wedding party and has rings and flowers and is actually a bit complicated, just like everything else in the Capitol.

"I imagine she'll look amazing," says Caesar. He looks to Peeta and says, "Does your family approve, Peeta? How are they reacting?"

Peeta calmly says, "My father was the one with me when I first saw Katniss, on the first day of school, and he's happy that my dream came true."

"Ahh, that's lovely, Peeta, perfectly lovely." Caesar begins to look a bit serious as he says, "Now, tell us: did you propose to Katniss before or after the announcement of the Quarter Quell?"

I inwardly feel my stomach plummet. I don't know why, but I find this question to be . . . . I don't know . . . too personal? Thing is, Peeta never proposed to me. It's almost like President Snow did it on behalf of him. I feel like gagging now that I think about it.

"It was after the announcement, Caesar, when the wedding idea came about," says Peeta smoothly, never missing a beat.

"I imagine that . . . that must have and is hard for you two, knowing that Katniss and potentially you, Peeta, are heading back into the arena," says Caesar.

"It is, Caesar, but you know what?" Peeta says, his voice laced with a bit of excitement.

Caesar straightens and asks, very interested, "What, Peeta?"

"I'll be spending the last few weeks before the Games married to the woman I love, and that's all I really want. It's all I've _ever_ wanted, and for that dream to come true," he looks at me know with a soft expression, "is - it's amazing, Caesar." He turns his gaze to Caesar and says, "It really is."

"Wow. Wow, that's all I can really say," smiles Caesar. "A real tragic love story. Are you excited for the wedding, Katniss?"

I realize that he's talking to me. I keep calm as I say brightly, "Oh, I am. I've been so excited it's like I'm on cloud nine."

"I can imagine, Katniss," says Caesar pleasantly. "Now, can you spare us any details before the ceremony?"

"Sorry Caesar," I smile, "our lips are sealed," and I reached up and brush my finger against Peeta's lips, and catching on, he does the same for me.

"Ahh, you two are so adorable together," says Caesar before he says, "now, anything that you want to say to our audience before we go?"

"Thanks for watching and we can't wait for you to see our wedding!" says Peeta, and he waves to the camera. I smile and wave at the camera as well before Caesar turns from us and to the camera.

"Tune in next Thursday night at four" - of course, for the Capitol it'll be at seven. It'll be even later for most of the other districts and earlier for others - "for a big three hour presentation of Katniss and Peeta's love life in the Games and the countdown to the big day, live. Good day, Panem!" and Caesar waves to the camera before the light on the main camera goes out and one of the men says, "Done!"

I breathe a sigh of relief and look to Peeta, who looks back at me. Neither of us are sure if we did it or not.

Caesar stands up and so do we, and he shakes Peeta's hand and kisses mine, saying, "Congratulations, you two, really." That's the thing about Capitol people; they actually think that our romance is big, genuine and real. I really don't get how they think this is real. Capitolians can be so dense.

"Thanks, Caesar," I say warmly, holding onto Peeta's right arm with both of my hands. I hold on to him for support, because I feel like falling back onto the sofa.

Caesar smiles and is rushed away by some Capitol people. I turn and so does Peeta as we head back to where we had come. We see Cinna and Portia at the end of the stage along with Effie, who says, "Let's head back to the penthouse, now, and eat before we rewatch your interview."

I honestly don't want to rewatch what we just had to endure, but it's better to listen to Effie than to not.

We return to the Training Center and Cinna and Portia introduce themselves to the Mellarks, who pretty much all look a bit stony, and my mother and Prim, who are a bit dazed. Haymitch waves to them as Peeta and I each escape to our own rooms to rid ourselves of all this makeup and junk.

I take a shower, scrubbing off everything on me, while Prim sits on her bed, which is a few feet away from the slightly cracked open bathroom door.

"I think you did well," says Prim.

"Really?" I say, scrubbing at my hair, ridding it of all the oil they had dumped on it.

"You looked really happy," she says.

"That's good," and I wash my hair with simple shampoo and conditioner.

After a few minutes, she says, "Do you like doing interviews?"

I turn off the shower and say, "No, not really. I'm horrible in them."

I put on a towel as Prim immediately protests, "You weren't horrible at all, Katniss. You and Peeta liked fine."

"Says you," I smirk slightly as I come out, dressed in a bathrobe.

"It's true, even Mr. Mellark said so."

I sigh as I gather clothes and say, "Did his wife slap him?"

"She glared at him," says Prim quietly as I pull on my clothes. "She doesn't like you very much. Why's that?"

I don't speak for a moment as I pull on my dark blue shirt and black pants. I finally say, "It's because I'm from the Seam."

"So am I, and Mother."

"Yeah," I say softly, turning to face her, "but you and her look like you're from town, and besides, I'm the one that's messing things around and marrying Peeta. YOU didn't do anything, little duck."

She gives me a small smile at the nickname and says, "Should we go eat now?"

"Yeah," I say, and we head to the dining room.

The Hawthornes are all here and they join us for lunch. Hazelle smiles and tries to make me feel better by saying I did great in the interview. Posy backs her up, and I oddly feel a bit better until I glance at Gale. He has this look on this face that I can't read. He and I have the same face when we don't want people to see our emotions.

We stare at each other for a moment before I seize a cheese bun and dunk pieces of it into the hot chocolate. It tastes quite nice and it helps keep my eyes off of Gale.

After we eat, we all sprawl about the small sofa and chairs to watch the interview. Even though everyone but Peeta and I have seen it, they sit around to watch it a second time.

I sit nervously between Gale and Prim, and Peeta is sitting on the top of the couch above me. These three make me stop shaking enough to be able to watch it.

I'm not too bad. I come off as ditzy. Peeta is ever gracious and perfectly paced and Caesar keeps things lively.

It finishes, and Effie turns off the TV.

"I think you both did wonderful," she says warmly.

"Thanks," I mumble as everybody starts to stand up.

"Time for dessert!" Effie says. The Avoxes have cleaned away everything from lunch and are bringing out our dessert.

People start going toward the dessert but as I stand, and walk a few feet, I stop when I feel someone whisper in my eye, "Real believable, sweetheart."

I turn and face Haymitch, who looks like he managed to score some alcohol. I'll have to tell the Avoxes to keep it away all together from the building.

"It wasn't that bad," I say in my defense.

"Sweetheart, nobody in the districts is going to believe your face. You look like you're on morphling, not in love. The boy did okay, but you need to pull this off. He doesn't have to do anything; he's already there. You, however, either need to look like you're interested in him or prepare for a hell of a time when this is all over, got it?" he tells me.

I frown. Haymitch has been watching the Capitol TV and has lived in the districts all his life. He knows the people on both sides, and he knows that the districts are not going to buy our love story.

"Then I guess the districts are never going to believe I'm in love with him," I spit. "Haymitch, I try, but apparently my efforts aren't enough -"

"They aren't, and you can change that." He shifts and he gestures with his hands. "Here's a new idea. You volunteered for your sister. You earned an eleven. You're the Girl on Fire. Make yourself more of the team of the star-crossed lovers like Peeta. No more leaning against him and acting all dainty. I want you to answer questions Caesar directs to you, and speak in your normal voice, not your damn dazed voice."

"I thought the whole point is for me to act innocent," I object.

"I know," he says, "but it's obvious that hasn't been working, now has it? It seemed almost like you changed your personality change immediately after you won. No, I want you to act like the Girl on Fire, but don't act like you know everything. Peeta knows better than you, and while you must act like you're in love, sweetheart, I want you to be a bigger part of the star-crossed lovers, got it?"

Okay, so acting innocent is out. I'm the Girl on Fire. I have to act like I AM part of the star-crossed lovers and I AM a big part of it. That it's just not one-sided with me looking dazedly at Peeta.

"Got it," I say.

"Good," he mutters, "don't try to mess anything else up."

"I don't TRY to mess things up," I hiss as he walks to the dessert bar.

I snarl and gesture for an Avox to come to me.

I lean in and pointing to Haymitch, say, "Make sure there's no more alcohol in this building."

The Avox nods and hurries away.

I head over and grab a plate as Peeta gets in line with me.

"What did Haymitch say?" he asks me softly.

"He wants me to no longer be so innocent looking and dazed with you, Peeta," I tell him. I look at him straight in his blue eyes and say, "He wants all of Panem to see the fire the Girl on Fire has for the Boy with the Bread."

**I hope you liked it (and it all makes sense) and please, let me know what you think!**


	5. Problems in the Penthouse

**Thank you, God, for everything. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Hunger Games. I was rereading Catching Fire and A LOT OF STUFF I FORGOT ABOUT HAPPENED. Oi.  
**

**Shall we continue? :) God bless you!  
**

On Tuesday morning Prim and I are sent off to my prep team, who is going to set me up permanently, at least for the rest of the trip. They're horribly distraught over my hands, which still have stitches in them. They had covered them with makeup that felt like powdered sugar and I had to take ten minutes to wash it out of my wounds. I only hope that none of the makeup got into my flesh, making my hands worse. They, along with my eyes and ears, are the things that help me the most.

It seems, however, that the welfare of my cut up hands is the last thing that my prep team cares about as they once again, per usual, strip me of my leg and arm hair. Prim winces as Flavius works on her head hair while Octavia takes care of my legs and Venia shapes my nails once again.

I grit my teeth and finally Octavia is done, saying, "Now, time for your eyebrows!"

I really don't want to get my eyebrows plucked. I really don't. Of course, my prep team doesn't seem to care how much pain I have to go through as long as I look pretty. I can't help but think as my eyelashes get teased with and hair gets plucked from my forehead that Peeta fell in love with me when I wore two little brown braids and a checked dress. Here they are, fancying me up for their Capitol tastes when I know that Peeta doesn't care. At all.

I gulp and bear it as Haymitch's advice rings through my ears. He wants me to be a bigger part of the star-crossed lovers' romance. Thing is, I don't know much about romance. At all. The best I did was kiss Peeta repeatedly when I tried getting broth into him, and that wasn't very romantic at all.

We haven't been on TV since the interview, and so I haven't had to prove myself yet. But I'm going to have to, for it'll be my last real chance to calm the districts. 8's already rebelling. If we just calm everyone else down, maybe there won't have to be bloodshed.

Unfortunately, that's not happening at the moment, for blood drips down my cheek as Octavia does some damage.

"Oh no!" she shrieks, and she rushes to it with a cloth. She cleans it up. I'm reminded of the cut I got in the arena courtesy of Clove. The cut's gone now.

They finish and Prim and I go back to our apartment. Prim feels a little scared of the elevator, but she manages not to tremble too much as we rise up.

"I think I'm getting used to this," she says as we continue our way up. "It's the stomach dropping feeling I don't like."

I think back to when I first rode an elevator. Effie and Haymitch were taking us up with our stylists to our penthouse for the first time. I had wished that I could ride the elevator again, but I didn't want to ask Effie.

I smile and lean against the wall. Prim and I are different in that way. We're nearly complete opposites, what with me always killing things and her always healing things, my brown hair and grey eyes and her blonde hair and blue eyes. We have the same stature, though, and our father's nose and general dislike of coal dust.

We arrive at our apartment and we see Effie looking over her schedule in the lounge, chirping excitedly as she pushes around papers and marks things. She's talking to my mother, who is watching her with a face filled with confusion as she nods to everything Effie says.

Effie looks up when I close the door and says, "Oh, Katniss, we have so many things to do! At one we have to go to the flower people who have chosen out several different types of flower arrangements, all approved by President Snow."

I hope that there's no roses in those arrangements as I walk closer.

"Then, at three, we have to check with Portia and Cinna and their dress people. They've been so busy making clothes for the entire wedding party and Peeta and your families." Effie beams as she adds, "I bought a lovely new dress for the occasion. Oh, I can't wait!"

I nod and I see Peeta over by the bar, getting himself a drink.

"You're drinking?" I say incredulously as I walk over to him. He can't be drinking. I won't allow him to. Not after what he did with the white liquor I had saved up for Haymitch.

"Orange juice," he says as he dilutes it with a bit of water. I nod. If you get a sort of special juice like apple juice from Parcel Day in the districts, you usually dilute it so that it'll last longer. "Where were you?"

I pull back an arm sleeve to let him see. "And that's just the beginning, Peeta. I'm going to have to look very grand for all the wedding events we have to do."

He nods quietly and starts to fix me a drink.

I look at him quietly for a moment before I remember Effie, who is still rambling, looking at my mother.

"Oh, and then tonight's supper is special! We're going to try flavors for the HUGE cake for Peeta and Katniss's wedding!" says Effie. She looks over to us and says, "I'm sure you'll enjoy everything, Peeta. There's the top chefs in the Capitol doing them!"

Peeta looks up and smiles at her. "Cool. Thanks, Effie." She nods and turns back.

I look to Peeta and say, "Imagine the wedding feast we're going to have."

"Enough food to keep District Twelve up for a week," he says, looking at me as he hands me my orange juice.

"And don't forget the feast the night before with all the victors," I add.

"Which is completely and utterly unnecessary," he nods, and we toast our glasses.

"And don't forget that people are going to be purposely throwing up at our wedding," I continue, taking a tiny sip of orange juice that runs down my throat with a sour taste. I smack my lips and discover that my appetite has made it have a bitter aftertaste.

"Rude manners," Peeta says seriously. "But not here in the Capitol."

"The one thing that is not good manners is good manners." I shake my head and say, "Only in the Capitol," before I tip my head back and drain the glass of its contents.

"Exactly," he says, and we both set down our glasses at the same time as the sound of Effie (still rambling) fills our ears.

"And then the President's wife was thinking of actually hosting a bridal shower-"

"WHAT?" I say, looking straight at Effie, who is still looking at my mother.

"-but she has so many things to do and there's no time to plan. Which is fine, of course, but imagine going to the President's mansion for a bridal shower!"

A deep breath fills me as I turn and leaning against the counter, slide to the floor. The last thing I want to do is to go to the President's mansion and have his wife give me a bridal shower. It's hard enough that I have to have a reception feast the night before my actual wedding. A bridal shower would just be too much. I don't even know what a bridal shower is but I don't want one.

I feel Peeta sink down next to me, a hand holding his chin thoughtfully. We sit together for a moment, me trying to calm my breathing. That was a big shock. I'm only glad that it isn't going to happen.

After a moment, Peeta takes his hand off of his chin and gently takes up one of mine in his and raises it to our eye level.

"How are they doing?" he asks me.

I whisper, "Mother's going to take out the stitching tomorrow."

He nods quietly. I look at our hands, and how they meld together perfectly. They're both nearly flawless skin wise because of the Capitol's treatment to them when we came out of the Games, but they both looked nicked now.

Mine has the obvious stitching in my small cuts with a couple of cuts that are shallow and narrow enough to have not gotten stitches. Peeta's have burns, and a nick from when he was practicing with a knife.

Both of our hands look used now. Untouched by the Capitol. Only when they apply makeup and ointment to him and my stitches come out and my skin gets taken care of will they look like they're Capitol hands.

The Capitol is turning us into them. Not emotionally, but physically.

I sigh and notice just how well our hands join. I've held his hand several times. In the chariot at the Tributes' Parade. In the Games. When we came home to District 12. Multiple times on the Victors' Tour for the cameras. All for the cameras. This is the first time I've had his hand in mine that isn't for the cameras.

I look up at him, and I can see that he's been watching me. When I look at him, he looks at me for a second before turning away, looking down at our hands.

I gulp and stand up, saying, "C'mon," and I pull him up.

Our hands hold together for a second before we let go and just look at each other. His blue eyes stare right into my face, and he looks so gentle, so protective. After all, none of this is for the Games for Peeta.

"Effie," I say finally, looking quickly away from him.

Effie's wig moves quickly with her head as she says, "Yes, Katniss?"

"Is there anything planned for this morning?"

A quick scan of her notes tells me no.

"I-I'm going to go down to the Training Center," I say. "Is that allowed?"

"Yes," says Effie, "there's no Peacekeepers there at the moment. Go and be free, until this afternoon, of course."

I nod and look at Peeta, who says, "Have a good time," and he takes his cup and the bottle of juice with him to his room.

I gulp and head to the door and to the elevator.

My heart pounds as the elevator goes down, giving my stomach a weightless feeling. I remember how Prim hates this feeling. I kind of like it. It's a rush, like hunting is kind of a rush.

The elevator beeps and I step out and head into the Training Center. The door is unlocked, and I simply walk in. How simple.

The place looks exactly the same, though there's no people or food set up on the big tables in the Gamemakers's viewing area. I look around and memories start to come. There's the obstacle course and the plant station and the fire making station and the dummies and swords and spears and knives.

Looking around, I feel something I didn't feel when I had been in here with all the other tributes and Gamemakers and trainers. I feel . . . . calm. A feeling I thought was only a feeling one could get when sleeping in the Capitol.

I idly touch a spear that's lined up on its rack. Everything looks the same. Everything. Except me.

Everything here is the same, but I've changed so much since I first came here. I first came here with a mindset of getting trained up, not using my bow and arrow skills, and not getting killed in the arena.

Things have changed. I have a rebellion coming onto my head and I have to marry Peeta Mellark and my family's in danger. But one thing remains. I'm going back into the Hunger Games.

I look around and I see no cameras. The lights are on, meaning that the Avoxes must have already been in here to clean. There's a bow and set of arrows with my name on them.

I gently grab a bow off of the rack, calmly thinking as I grab it.

Technically, I don't have to do it anymore. I don't have to pretend to be in love with Peeta. Snow told me that at the end of the Victors' Tour. But I do. To protect my mother and my sister still. For Peeta to protect his family.

I grab an arrow.

The only way that none of them is going to experience an 'accident' is for us to do it for President Snow. Who knows, anyway? Maybe our acting in the Victors' Tour didn't work to convince the nation, but maybe our wedding will. It'll come months late, but maybe it can salvage the nation so that there's no rebellion. If there's a rebellion when I'm gone, how will my mother and sister live? District 12 will be broken. Wait. There's already been a breakout. District 8. Still, though, that's only one district. A rebellion would have all of the districts fighting.

I load my arrow, my lips set in a straight line.

If they ALL rebel, things are going to be in turmoil. The entirety of the districts is going to be a war zone. I hope that Peeta, when he comes out of the Quarter Quell, makes sure that my mother and sister don't stay. I don't care how many doctors or nurses or healers they need. I'll want them safe.

Thing is, where do they go? No Capitol. They're the enemy. The districts will be a war zone and perfectly dangerous.

There's always District 13. I almost laugh at the idea of District 13 existing. The Capitol has everyone in the Capitol and the districts convinced that District 13 is gone. Bombed, gone, not safe to return to. But, the tip of the mockingjay's wing. . .

I turn to a target dummy, and center my arrow. I squint my eyes slightly. District 13 does exist. It never didn't exist, for it had always been there. It just isn't safe to go. Everyone thinks that, except for Bonnie and Twill. And now me.

I let the arrow loose and it hits the dummy straight in the heart.

"Never miss a shot, eh, Catnip?" I whip around, my braid hitting my neck, and I spot Gale squatting over the weights.

"When did you get down here?" I ask him, walking quickly to the weights station and squatting next to him.

"A few minutes before you," he says. "Effie told me when I asked her what I should do around here. She sounded distracted."

"She's a bit busy with my schedule at the moment," I say, my voice not sounding too pleased as I place the bow down.

He nods and puts down the weight. He looks around and says, looking at the ground, "This is where you trained."

"Yes," I reply.

"A lot more different than the woods," he says.

"Well, the woods are a bit easier. There's no Cato running around trying to bring along bloodshed," I say.

"That's true," Gale says. He looks around once more and says, "What happened, in your private session?"

"Can't tell," I remind him.

"You can tell me, Catnip," he says quietly. He looks at the weights and says, "You usually tell me everything."

"I have to have a couple of secrets," I say. I lean down and pick up a weight and whisper, "I'm not allowed to tell, remember? Don't forget."

"So?" he says, looking at my face. "You can tell family."

I lean back and think, why not tell him? There's nothing they have to use against me now. "I shot an arrow at the Gamemakers."

"You what?" he says with a hint of a laugh in his voice.

I nod and say, "I shot an arrow at the Gamemakers because they weren't paying attention to my shooting."

"Where they surprised?" he says.

"One fell in the punch bowl," I say, and he laughs. And the Gamemaker who fell in so happens to be the Head Gamemaker this year. Yep. Things are working out quite well for the Girl on Fire.

"Were you shooting at their heads?" he asks me, looking slightly more serious.

"Naw. Just . . . in their general direction," I answer him. I want to say that I can hit anything I set out to hit, but that would sound like I was trying to assassinate one of the Gamemakers, and that would never do.

He nods and leaves it at that, and we look back at the weights. My stomach sinks when I remember that we have a fragile relationship. He thinks that I'm sucking up to the Capitol by marrying Peeta, and I haven't forgiven him. We've been avoiding each other since we can to the Capitol. We've muttered some small talk when we all ate in the dining room or when we took the boys and Posy and Prim up to the roof, but that's about it.

He sighs and says, "You're going to have to come back here."

"I know," I say.

"Again. After all of this, you're going back into the arena."

"I know."

"I wish there was something I could do to not have you go back in there."

"There's nothing you can do. Unless there's another female tribute from District Twelve hiding somewhere, I'm going in."

"Catnip-" he starts, but I stop him by standing up and saying hastily, "Cousins don't call each other endearments, Gale."

He stands and says, looking at me seriously, "Fine. I'm heading upstairs."

I fold my arms and watch as he leaves, the door slamming behind him.

I gulp and realize that our relationship is just getting worse and worse. Why. I don't want it to be like that. I just want Gale to be my friend, but that's impossible at the moment with me marrying Peeta.

I close my eyes and squeeze them shut as I put my hands behind my head, and I feel myself walking backwards. My head is starting to ache as I hit a wall. I grit my teeth and I feel myself start to tremble. Why does everything have to be so complicated? I wish I could go back, back and shove Effie away, make Prim's name waver about in the ball for a second longer, and then have Effie pick out a name. There's no doubt she wouldn't fall back to that exact same place.

"Katniss!" I hear, but I don't open my eyes. I don't want to see the world. I don't want to be surrounded by weapons and the Capitol. I don't want to be in the Capitol. Amongst all these crazy people who want me dead. They give me a sparkly wedding and they want me dead.

We have such a lovely relationship.

"Katniss!" I feel myself getting hugged as strong arms wrap around me. My hands leave the back of my head as they wrap around the person around me, and I feel like sobbing as I lean on the person's shoulder.

"Oh, Katniss," and I let out a choked sob as Peeta hugs me close to him, his head leaning against mine. His hand finds my back and rubs my spine with his fist gently in little circles. "Oh, Katniss."

I want to stop crying. Crying is not going to help me, but yet I sob as I feel Peeta's grasp. He's strong, even with his plastic leg, and he stands firm as he runs a hand slowly over my hair, still stroking my back.

Somehow he leads us upstairs, somehow pushes elevator buttons while calming me down. We leave the elevator and I don't look up when I hear my mother say, "What happened?"

"She wants to lie down," Peeta says as I let out a particularly loud sob.

He takes me to my bedroom and puts me down on the bed, whispering soothing words to me. He manages to slip out of my grasp and gives me a pillow. I clutch the white fluffiness, and tremble.

I hear him talking with someone, I think Prim, and my shoes come off and I'm covered with big, thick blankets. I melt into the warmth and don't care that I'm wearing my regular clothes as my eyes close and I fall asleep. I don't want to sleep, for I know of the nightmares, but I feel too tired to protest too much, and I fall asleep.

This is a new nightmare. Gale is beaten and Prim is up in a tree, looking bloody and lost. My mother is nowhere to be seen and Peeta is looking at me, Snow calling for him to attack me. He shakes as he comes to me. All around us is fire. I back away from him, from the bloodthirsty look in his eye.

I back up too much, and I walk into the ring of flames.

I wake up shaking, making noises of horror. I sit up, my braid all sweaty, and by the light of the window, I can see that it's late in the afternoon.

There's a plate of food for me, but the only thing that I can see is the cheese buns and hot chocolate. There's also a bowl of lamb stew, but I ignore it as I pinch off pieces of the bread and drink the hot chocolate. While the stew reminds me of the Capitol, the bread and hot chocolate remind me of Peeta.

As I eat, I suddenly realize that when I went out and slept next to Peeta on the floor of the dining car, that had been the first time he had slept next to me or had even shown me affection since the Quarter Quell announcement. He had been so focused on driving him, myself and Haymitch harder, faster, that he had been more like a drill master than a lover, or even a friend.

I finish the bread and the hot chocolate. The drink usually makes me feel full and warm, but instead it tastes nothing more than water. I don't need the hot chocolate. I want Peeta and his warm arms around me, comforting me and letting me not think about all that's riding on me.

I've had nightmares all year and the last half of last year, and I've only had him with me once since the Victor's Tour. I wish I had him now.

The door opens and I look up to see Prim coming in hesitatingly, as if she's afraid to come into our room.

"Hey," I say, and she enters.

"You were asleep for a long time," she says, and she looks to the food tray. "I-I asked the Avoxes to get you stew. You like that."

"I didn't feel like eating it," I say, and she comes over and sits next to me.

"Are you okay?" she asks me.

"Yeah," I say, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "I'm okay."

"No, you're not," she says. She looks up at me and says seriously, "Peeta brought you here and you were crying."

"I had a tough time back in the Training Center," I tell her.

"Too many bad memories?"

"Yeah," I sigh. I nod and repeat her quietly, "Too many bad memories."

She nods and then says quietly, "We're going to try a lot of cake tonight. You like cake, right?"

"What kind of a question is that, little duck?" I laugh, ruffling her hair, "everyone loves cake!"

She nods again and looks at the ground as she leans against me. I put my head against hers and we stay like that for a while.

After a rather light supper of four courses varying with leek soup with croutons to roast elk with pureed squid to ripe, old cheese, the Avoxes come in with several different cakes, all frosted, with several plates ready. They slice the cakes and set them in front of us, Effie reading off cards, calling out their names.

There's red cakes with pink frosting that tastes like nuts and there's yellow cake with spots of different rainbow colors. We're going to be working on choosing the designs of the cakes tomorrow. Apparently, Peeta and I have an appointment with Effie and several different cake decorators to choose out from the designs.

I sit across from Peeta and he looks at me as we pick apart the cakes. Frankly, everyone else is too happy to be eating tons and tons of cake and Posy and Cort look like they're going to be sick. Gale picks at his cake pieces, but eats them just the same, for he knows what it's like to be starving, and the same as me, he hates wasting. Just wait until he hears about the throwing up drink the Capitol has.

Despite me not eating much in my room, I eat a lot of cake and my stomach starts to hurt after my sixth piece. Effie leaves to go to the bathroom and Peeta and I exchange a look. No doubt to throw up.

Haymitch gives everyone a look and says nonchalantly, "Don't eat too much of each or you'll throw up."

Everyone sort of nods and starts to take it a bit slower.

After all the cake tasting, I feel like everything tastes the same, so when Effie looks expectantly to Peeta and I, I lean against my chair and say, "Peeta can choose." I don't really care anymore, and Peeta knows more about cakes than I do. Isn't he the one who decorated the cakes and sugar cookies at the bakery?

He looks around and finally points to one of the white cakes that only has spots of gold and silver. The frosting's hard on it and I think it tasted a lot like sugar and fluffiness.

"Oh, that one! Oh, it'll look brilliant!" says Effie as she jots down onto her clipboard with glee. Gale gives her a look as Hazelle begins to gather up the kids to put them to bed, all of them looking rather worse for wear.

Effie finishes writing on her clipboard as Hazelle bids good night, leaving with Rory, Vick and Posy in tow. Gale still sits in his seat, concentrating on his cake crumbs.

Effie looks at me, her lips pursed, and I realize why. Due to my crying and sleep, we missed our appointment with Cinna, Portia and their people with the dresses and such. Everyone had to stay here this afternoon while I cried and I really don't care. Effie looks annoyed with me missing up her schedule, but hasn't her schedule helped mess up my life?

"We'll be dealing with clothes tomorrow morning," she says, "and then we'll be doing flower arrangements after lunch. Wednesday's going to be busy because I've rescheduled the choosing of the cake decorations and-"

She rambles and rambles and finally Mr. Mellark allows his wife to take his hand and lead him away. I don't blame them as they pass me, Mrs. Mellark glaring at me. I turn back to see Peeta looking at me and I give him a dismissive look. I've been learning to ignore her.

Presently Effie is done and she says sweetly, standing up, "I'll be heading off to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a big, big day!"

We watch her leave and Haymitch searches the table with his eyes before he growls, annoyed, and takes a large jug of orange juice and hot sauce with a cup into his bedroom.

"What's with the sauce?" asks Cort.

"He wants the burn," I say, leaning back. "He's an alcoholic, if you haven't noticed, and Peeta and I have been depriving him."

"I've seen him in town. He comes into the bakery occasionally. When he can walk," says Bryce. He watches him before he says wonderingly, "How did he win?"

"No idea," says Gale.

"He's from the Seam, isn't he?" Cort says, his eyebrows furrowing.

Gale and I immediately look at him and Gale says, "Yeah, he is. So what?"

I've never heard or thought of Gale protecting Haymitch, but he is now. I gulp and sit up straighter and then I hear Peeta gulp and say, "Why don't we play a game?"

Cort looks confused as he looks to Peeta, as we all do. He sits up straighter and says, "Come on. A game. Effie didn't say we had to do anything tonight."

"What game?" asks Cort.

Peeta shrugs and I remember something that was in my dresser. "Cards."

I instantly stand up and turn to Prim and my mother and say, "Do you want to play?"

"I think I'm going to go to bed," my mother says quietly as she stands up. She looks to me as she says, "I'll be ready to take out your stitches early tomorrow, before the other activities. If you'd like."

"Yeah, let's do that," I say, and she smiles and gives everyone a quick nod before she hurries to her room.

Peeta looks to Prim and says quietly, "Do you want to play cards with us, Prim?"

She looked around the table and gives a quick nod. She goes and retrieves them from our room and Peeta and I shove the food dishes out of the way. Within a few minutes, we're all sitting in seats next to each other as we play a game of something called rummy. Cort teaches us all and we manage to get a game going. I'm doing okay, and Prim is struggling, but Gale, keeping his cool for once, is doing well.

We don't talk much, and we play for a while. It's one in the morning when I make Prim go to bed. At two, Cort and Bryce head to bed, and it's just myself and Peeta and Gale.

I'm at 1270 while Peeta's at 1365 while Gale's at 1400. Peeta and I are both surprised but pleasantly so by Gale. He looks so brooding, so annoyed as he leans over his cards, but he's steadily studying them, not something I've seen him do.

Gale is concentrated in the woods. At school, he's average. He's better at physical strength. The fact that he's beating us at cards is something fascinating in and of itself.

We finally stop playing at three o'clock when we all hear Haymitch moving about in his bathroom, throwing up. I groan and Peeta says he's going to help him. How the hell did Haymitch find alcohol? He's a wily one, though you wouldn't think so by looking at him.

Gale helps me gather up the cards and I have them in my hand to put back when we stand up to go to bed.

I turn and head to my door, muttering a good night to him, when he says, "Katniss?"

I whirl around, surprised not because of his calm tone after what happened today but because he said my name. Just my name. Not a nickname. Just . . . Katniss.

He gulps and looks like he wants to say something, but he can't get the words out, and I rush over to him and wrap my arms around him, because even though it's three in the morning and I'm as tired as I can be, I feel stronger as I wrap my arms around him, letting him know silently what I feel. I know. Words have not been working out between us, and I just wish that he knew that I loved him, but at the moment, I can't like that. Even if I wasn't in this situation, I wouldn't know how I felt about him.

I'm not Peeta. Words fail me. So I just hug him.

After that, I look up into his eyes, and he has this kind of expression on his face, like he's finally accepted everything. That doesn't mean that he's happy about it, but he knows it, and he gulps as he takes a step back.

I take a step back as well, and I see Peeta out of the corner of my eye, looking at us from the sink of Haymitch's bathroom. He looks sort of hurt, and I remember that Gale's back is to him.

I give him a very, very tiny shake of my head and looking up to Gale, I say loudly, "Good night," and turn on my heel and hurry into my bedroom.

I hurry in. Prim's lying under her covers, looking as peaceful as an angel as I frantically get into my pajamas. A tank and shorts slip on; I feel a bit panicky. Oh, great, now Peeta thinks that I just kissed Gale when I went and hugged him. The phrase "Looks can be deceiving" enters my mind as I flop onto my bed, my bones and muscles feeling achy and my head drowsy. I don't want to think about it now. Thinking about it is not going to solve anything or make me feel better. I'll explain to Peeta what happened in the morning.

After all, didn't he see me shake my head? Couldn't he see that that was a hug? Didn't he see my head poking over Gale's shoulder? I pull the blanket closer and try to fall asleep, though the image of Peeta's hurt face is still in my mind.

**I'm creating couple problems. This is a problem. Anyway, I hope you liked it and please, let me know what you think! God bless you!  
**


	6. A Special Presentation

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Hunger Games. Another chappie!**

**~ Katniss Everdeen's point of view ~  
**

A quiet morning light comes through the window. My eyes have been watching it for the past few minutes. My heart pounds. The sound fills my ears. I curl up in my comforter and pillows. It was another nightmare. There was Rue and Peeta and Gale and Prim and they were all in the Hunger Games. On metallic plates, waiting for the gong to sound. I was in a mentor viewing room, screaming for them. I was alone and there was the smell of roses and blood in the background.

I wake up shaking. I look at the window, deliberating in my mind. I so, so want to go to Peeta, comforting, good Peeta, but the pit of pride has snuck into my stomach. He looked so betrayed when all I had done was hug Gale. I feel sort of guilty now, wanting to go to him to comfort me from my nightmare. What if he doesn't want to? He has never rejected me before. Matter of fact, back in the Victor's Tour train, he would join me. He used to walk around the train, sleepless, and then come to me.

He isn't going to come to me. I know that. If I want comfort from my nightmare, I need to go to him.

I gulp and decide to do rather than think. The blanket gets flung off of me and not bothering to put on a robe or slippers, I rush out of the room and hurry to Peeta's bedroom.

I stop at his door and gently rap the door with my fist. I lean against the door, and I hear a, "Come in."

Gulping, I peek my head through the crack I open in his door. He's lying on his side on his bed. Just on one side, leaving the other half covered in ruffled blanket.

"Katniss?" he says, sitting up.

I nod quietly and whisper in a wavering voice, "Can I come in?"

He quickly nods and sits up straighter as I stiffly walk over to him.

"Nightmare?" he says. I nod. He nods understandingly and offers his arms. Poor Peeta. Even after what he thought he saw . . .

I fall into his arms and grip him tightly, and I don't want him to go back. I don't want him to go back into the Hunger Games. No. He can't. Not Peeta. Not him. I want him to stay alive and to live his life and I want him to not go in there. It's hard enough when there's just children in the arena, but this is going to be against hardened victors.

"What was it this time?" he says quietly, his voice sounding a little cold. He's thinking of what he had just seen a couple of hours ago.

"There was Rue, and Prim and Gale in the Hunger Games," I say. "And so were you. You were all on your plates, waiting for the gong. I was in one of the mentoring rooms or something. Oh, Peeta, I was so scared."

I feel his jaw set as he leans against my head, running a hand soothing down my back.

I gulp and say very quietly, "I still am."

"It's okay, Katniss. Rue is in a better place, and Gale and Prim aren't going into the arena," Peeta says.

My head moves away from his shoulder and I look him in the eye. "But you could." I might as well say, "You are."

"Yeah, but there's nothing we can do about that. So there's no point in worrying about it."

"Peeta," I say, and I reach up and for one tender moment, tuck a bit of hair back before his ears. His eyes never leave me as I whisper, "I don't want you to go in."

"I don't want you to go in," he whispers back.

That's when I lean in and kiss him. My arms tighten around him and his firm frame. I don't want him to go. There's nothing I can do about it. That means that we're going to have to enjoy the time we have left together.

After a few seconds, he backs away and breathes, leaning his forehead against mine. His arms around me feel so comforting as he whispers, "Oh, Katniss. We can't do this."

"Yes, we can," I whisper.

"Don't lead me on, please," he says in with wavering breaths. I lean away so that I can focus on him and he looks pained as he says, "Please, don't make me feel like this. Not when you don't really want me."

"I hugged Gale."

Peeta looks a little confused before he says, "What?"

"I hugged him. That's all," I say. "He . . . hasn't liked it here, or anything that's happened. All I wanted was to make him feel better, and I'm no good at words. You know that, Peeta. So I hugged him."

"That's all?" he says, slightly incredulous but very hopeful.

"Promise."

A sound in his sigh sounds likes relief as he folds me into a hug, leaning his head against mine.

* * *

The next morning, I decide to volunteer to go get the Hawthornes from their apartment instead of an Avox. I need a quick something to say to avoid the look that my mother gives me when I yawn loudly. I get dressed and head to the elevator to fetch them for breakfast.

The elevator goes down and dings. A yawn escapes from me as the doors open.

I enter and I see Vick and Rory sitting, all dressed, on one of the sofas.

"Morning," I say, and I feel my movement getting restricted at my legs. I look down and see Posy's bright face looking up at me, her arms tightly inclosing me in her grasp.

"I caught you," she says.

"Yeah, you did. Now I'm going to tickle you," I say teasingly, and my hands reach down and tickle her. She lets out squeals of laughter as we sink to the floor. I tickle her stomach and her arms and legs.

Once I decide enough's enough, I straight and offer her my hand. She giggles and grasps my wrist and I help her stand up.

"Can you go get your mother and tell her it's time for breakfast?" I tell her.

She nods and says, "Okay, Katniss." Letting go of my wrist, she bounces off to her mother's bedroom.

Nodding, I turn to Vick and Rory, and ask them to go get Gale. Vick nods and hurries over to his older brother's room.

"Having a good time here?" I ask Rory. The silence is coming. Silence is not something I want to hear at the moment.

"Yeah. The Avoxes are a bit strange, though," he says quietly. "Gale told me what happened to them."

"Yeah," I whisper.

We hear a shuffling in the background and we see in the dull background a figure.

"There's the one who's been serving here," Rory says.

For some reason, I have a feeling I want to know what this Avox looks like. I call for the Avox to come closer, and I feel like my stomach's caught in my throat when I see who it is. Red hair. Boyish face. The same face that I had seen in the Hob a hundred times.

Decked out in the Capitol servant wear is Darius.

Rory looks to me and whispers, "I . . . think he's from-"

"Shhh," I say, quickly turning to him. Bending down a bit, I whisper, "Don't say anything. Okay, Rory?"

"Why?"

"Just . . ." I look up to see Darius staring solemnly at us. "Because."

The ex-Peacekeeper and I share a look as I slowly straighten up. A look that says everything that neither he nor I can say out loud. The Capitol has taken both of our tongues, rending us speechless. Even if I could speak, I wouldn't know what to say. What, "Sorry that I hadn't been there sooner to save you from Thread?" I don't think so.

Gulping, I give him a slight nod, and he returns it. That's all we can do. We're both here in the Capitol, following their commands. There's nothing either of us can say or do that can change that.

A clearing of a throat is to my left, and I turn to see Gale. He looks uneasy as he looks over to Darius. We exchange a look that only the two of us can understand. The kind that only the two people who traded, laughed with and worked with the man who was now a Capitol servant could understand.

He gulps and says, "Breakfast, then?"

"Yeah," I say. "Is your mother ready?"

"Yeah," he says, and I look over my shoulder to see Posy skipping ahead of Hazelle, who's coming over to us.

I smile to make her feel at ease and we all head upstairs. Gale and I are the last two in the elevator. We both look to Darius before we swiftly enter the elevator and push the button to take us up.

Despite myself, I'm shaking when we get off. A feeling overcomes me that remains throughout breakfast that Snow deliberately wanted Darius to serve here, knowing that I would see him one way or another. A sly way to make me unhinged. To make myself feel shaken. Something to make me not think of a rebellion when I can see the consequences of those actions right in front of me.

I wipe my mouth with my napkin. I need to calm down. Snow is trying to unhinge me, and his plan is working. It can't.

Today's the day for errands and appointments. Peeta and I are whisked off with Effie and Haymitch. Cinna and Portia take care of our makeup and clothes, and we head to our appointments. Effie has our families and the Hawthornes going off to do interviews for the big presentation tomorrow.

The flower arrangements remind me of when my mother was trying to help me find a talent. With me being a victor, I needed one, and one she had suggested and had me try was flower arranging. Needless to say, I was pretty bad at it. The flower arrangements here though are quite nice, though when we passed by the rose ones, I gagged and clung to Peeta's arm. The smell was overwhelming. Were those some of Snow's roses as well? Trying to unhinge me further?

We choose out arrangements that show off a lot of different flowers. There's a few I recognize from District 12, and, though I really should not be doing anything to rustle up Snow, I also choose it because it has some of the flowers that were like the ones that I decorated Rue with. Peeta quickly agrees with my choice, and Effie discusses things with the florist.

Peeta plucks one of the flowers out of the arrangements and hands it to me. "Like some of them on the roof."

"Yeah," I say as I hold it. When he's not looking, I slip it into my pocket. That way it won't get wrinkled by my sweaty hand. It'll also be safe so that I can dry it later.

We do cakes again, and one cake decorator actually slips and falls in his haste to get over to Peeta. I blink as Peeta helps him up and they get all caught up in this discussion of cake and frosting and something called fondant.

They bring out several decorated cakes with several different designs ranging from flowers to trees to gold to elegant white. I have no idea what to do, but Peeta takes care of everything.

After that we head back to the penthouse for our supper and rest. Feeling only slightly tired from standing up all day, I follow Effie, Peeta and Haymitch onto the elevator. Effie's squealing excitedly, marking things on her clipboard that is making us all gain headaches.

"Well, we just need to meet up with Cinna and Portia about the wedding clothes, which we can do before the big show tomorrow," she says. She glows as she says excitedly, "Everyone is so excited for the big presentation!"

I gulp and look at Peeta, and he looks uneasy as well. Tomorrow, with our families and prep teams and stylists and Haymitch and Effie, we are going to go on stage, live before everyone in Panem, and we're going to have a show with Caesar. There's going to be a three hour presentation of, well, basically our relationship. Using film from the Games and the Victor's Tour, they should have enough to make something that will make everyone die inside. Including myself.

* * *

It's tomorrow and Effie is freaking out. We're at the dressing room. By we I mean my mother and my sister and Hazelle and Posy and Mrs. Mellark. Cinna decided that since he was the designer for the bride that he would do the clothes for the women of my family. Technically, Hazelle and Posy are not related to me, but technically, they are.

The interview's at four. It's currently three thirty and Effie is loud. I silently yell at her to stop as Octavia finishes doing my nails.

"I think they're done," she says tiredly. She and Venia and Flavius have been busy, taking care of us all. They were freaking out over Prim again, and Posy. It's hard not to smile looking at the sweet face of little dark haired Posy.

Like when they first met my mother, they were respectful and thoughtful toward her and Hazelle and Mrs. Mellark. Mrs. Mellark, however, sat in the corner most of the time, saying she already had washed her hair and did not need her nails or any other part of her body taken care of, thank you very much.

My hair's put up in a big bun on top of my hand. Ringlets that fall from my head on the sides are curled by Flavius, who gets reprimanded by Venia to "stop shaking so much! You'll burn her!"

Cinna catches my eye and I quickly get the go ahead by the prep team. They turn to someone else as I hurry to Cinna, my bathrobe covering me.

"What is it?" I say.

"There's been a change in plans," he says.

My mind reels by what he means. "How so?"

"You're not going to be wearing what I made for you."

Now I'm mad. I know exactly what he's going to say. Snow wanted me to wear something else. Cinna has had too much free rein, and it shows in the clothes I wear. Snow wants to stop showing his work, and I know that he isn't going to put flames on Prim.

"What is it going to be, then?" I say, keeping my voice calm.

"Come with me," he says, and I follow him through a couple of doors to a dark room. He flips a switch and I gulp as a spotlight falls on top of a soft, satiny white dress. It's flowing, with some thick, stripy waves from the torso down to the knee. It's sleeveless, but there's a pair of gloves on a display table along with a tiara. White shoes accompany it. It's all white. Bridal wear.

Breathing heavily, I say, "Where'd this come from?"

"This was one of the dresses that made it to the top but didn't get voted for," Cinna says, looking at me. "Snow had his own designer make all of your wedding dresses. He called me today to let me know the change of plans."

I nod and say, "All right, then."

I get dressed. The material, while wasteful and delicate looking, is soft and warm. The gloves are annoying, for they cover the nail job on my fingers that took fifteen minutes to polish. The shoes feel like they'll disintegrate under my rough feet, but Cinna reassures me they will hold.

Once the shoes are done, I look to him and say, "What about makeup?" None of my prep team applied anything other than dark red to my fingers.

"Leave that to me," he says, and I do. He applies strong red eye shadow on my eyes. My lips are covered in soft pink. I have no idea what he's going for as he heightens my eyelashes, making them striking.

"What's the plan of attack now?" I ask him as he steps back.

"Mature yet strong," he says, "you've outgrown your soft dresses."

Oh, have I. Snow's still trying to make me look perfectly innocent and in love. Cinna's trying to bring the flames back to the Girl on Fire. I nod and he says quietly, "I'm done." He waves around his finger and I twirl slowly, watching the end of the dress, which reaches the floor, twist around like a never ending wave of white.

"Does it work?" I say as I stop, facing him.

He nods and says, offering his hand, "Let's go wow them."

Thinking back, we've already wowed them. Didn't I wow them by volunteering for my sister, even though I was from District 12? Didn't we wow them with the Victor's Parade and the interviews and everything? Now, we just need to do it once again.

Nodding, I grab his hand and we hurry back to my family and Hazelle and Posy. I gulp when I realize that Mrs. Mellark is going to be my mother-in-law. We're not ever going to have a healthy relationship, are we?

Prim's eyes go wide when she sees me walk in. "You look beautiful, Katniss!"

"Thanks," I say. She has her blonde hair up in a braid that's twisted on top of her head. She's wearing an accented dress that's blue. It has straps on her shoulders but no sleeves, and when she walks, it shimmers. She has a set of flowers in the twist of her hair. Primroses. "You look prettier than I do, though."

It's true. Her blonde hair and blue eyes are characteristic of being from town, and no one can compare to someone with blue eyes.

"You both look beautiful," my mother says, and I turn to face her. I say quietly, "Thank you," and she looks at me with a smile, taking in my dress.

"That was one of your wedding dresses," Prim says a few feet away. All of them recognize them from the photo shoot and the mandatory viewing. Frankly, I've forgotten what the dresses I have worn look like. I had to keep changing constantly that day, eating here and there when I had time, getting my hair done up and new flowers getting shoved on me and the lights.

"Yeah," I say, and I twirl for everyone. "Doesn't it look lovely?"

"You look wonderful, Katniss," Hazelle says. She and Posy are dressed up in blue dresses that are respectful, Posy's looking absolutely adorable against her dark hair and her little dimples.

I thank her as Effie comes running in, looking like she could faint at the sight of me.

"My goodness, am I glad I shopped!" she says. She's sporting a new outfit, all blue, to fit everyone else. Her wig is tinted blue and she has dark blue eyeshadow with powdery glitter under her eyes. Her lipstick and nails are blue and her new shoes and feathers. She probably had a better way of scoring rare feathers, being my escort and not my prep team. "Now, now, it's time to go out!" She looks to me like she has a special treat and she says, "You're going to be seeing Peeta live on stage, as usual!"

As usual indeed. I follow Effie at the front of our fancily dressed parade, and I can hear Mrs. Mellark's grumbling behind me. She's wearing a rather plain blue dress with long sleeves and sturdy shoes. My prep team were stressed when she refused their other dresses and settled for the plainest. Even if it is the plainest, it's still the fanciest dress she has ever worn. I can guarantee it.

We're behind the stage and Effie says, "Everyone except for Katniss will be joining Mr. Mellark and the boys, and they'll go with myself, Haymitch, Cinna and Portia onstage." She turns to me just as I look vaguely concerned and says, "And you, Katniss, you'll be rising on your metal plate. And so will Peeta. Isn't that clever?"

Sounds more annoying and pain evoking than clever, but I nod in reply. Effie smiles and tells my mother and Hazelle instructions. Just what I need. To go back to the metal place and rise back up the same way I did back at my first Hunger Games. The Capitol thinks it's clever; I think it's poetic justice making me feel filled with memories. Bad memories. Memories of rewatching the Games.

I inhale and I turn when I hear someone say, "Sweetheart, let's get you set up."

"What do you want me to do tonight, Haymitch?" I say quietly as we walk, side by side, to where under the stage my transportation awaits.

"Remember what I told you. Be a bigger part of your romance," he says quietly.

"I know," I say. I tried once and I failed once. Taking a deep breath, I ask him, "Why are we even doing this?" He knows fully well that the nation is not going to believe whatever either Peeta or I put out romance-wise. Matter of fact, they might just rebel tonight when they see what I'm getting forced to do.

Haymitch sighs and says, "I'm not even sure, sweetheart. Do what you want."

After a second I say, "I want to show Snow I'm not just a piece in his Games."

"Okay, sweetheart, if that's what you're going for. Just be assertive. Take control. Peeta will do his thing, and between the two of you, you should have the nation in an uproar," Haymitch says. He helps me onto the plate.

"Thanks for your vote of confidence," I tell him, adjusting the dress so that the edges won't get caught in the stage when I try to walk off.

"No problem, sweetheart," he says, and Effie discovers him and beckons him to hurry. He waves her off and turning to me, sighs and says, "That's about it, then."

"No more words of advice?" I ask him bitterly.

"Keep alive," and he disappears.

A few minutes pass. The sound of the crowd is loud, and I can tell that my family and 'family' are on stage along with my Capitol team. I can hear the boom of Caesar's voice and the roar of the crowd.

I hear a jolt, and I think I can make out my name as my plate starts to rise. Taking a deep breath, I mentally prepare myself. This is it. This is going to be the first interview with the fiery Katniss, who has an equal part in the star-crossed lovers. I had acted like a ditzy stupid person. Anyone with brains could tell that I had two different personalities. Fiery, hardworking and good in the woods Katniss and love drunk Katniss who acts like a lovestruck teenager.

No more of that Katniss. I set my lips into a hard, thin frown as the lights engulf me and I can hear Caesar say over the crowd, "Katniss Everdeen!"

I turn to Caesar as he steps over to me and offers his hand. I take it and he kisses it. Gracing him with a polite, thin smile, I listen as he turns to the crowd and says, "She is here! Welcome, Katniss!"

"Hello, Caesar," I say, somewhat coldly.

"Lovely to have you." He looks to the crowd and says, "Katniss hasn't seen Peeta since this morning. Who wants her to see him all dressed up and ready to see her?"

The crowd roars and I think that the Capitol is not too poetic with this. At least at the interview at the end of the Hunger Games I hadn't seen him for weeks. This has just been a few hours. Thankfully, the crowd doesn't care, and I'll have to give him a good reaction. Which is . . . ?

Caesar points to where the metallic plate will come up, and up comes Peeta, looking sturdier on his fake leg than he did the last time he was here doing this with me. He smiles and hurries to me. I hurry to him as well, but I don't giggle or anything. I take purposeful strides and hug him, looking at the floor. After a second, I pull back and smile at him, tucking a bit of his loose blonde hair back behind his ear. I can't help it. Haymitch wants me to do what I want, though, and I'm doing it.

We go to the sofa that's in the center of a bunch of sofas, all filled with our family and 'family.' Peeta and I get our own loveseat, but Prim hangs over so her head's near mine and Mr. and Mrs. Mellark have one that sort of curves on our left. All in all, a little family-esque for the Hunger Games interview stage, but I'm currently love it. I sneak a glance at Gale, though, to make sure he's not frowning.

I can hear the prep teams in the front row, cheering their heads off as I turn back to Caesar, who's calming the overwhelmed crowd. Wow. I didn't know that they cared this much, but I guess the sight of us two star-crossed lovers, practically destined to death, amongst our family is too much for them.

Once they're quiet, Caesar turns back to us, facing Peeta and I, and says, "Wow! Such a response!"

"Yeah, it's a lot!" says Peeta.

"Well, you are the most adored couple in all of Panem. I supposed it's to be expected, right? Were you expecting any of this, Mrs. Everdeen?"

I turn my neck to see my mother sitting next to Prim. She looks only a tiny bit flustered as she answers, "No, I wasn't. It's a lot more than I expected."

"Things living up to your expectations?"

"Surpassed them. Surely," my mother replies. I turn and face her and she gives me a tiny smile. After this, I'm going to have to thank her for doing well.

"Well, that's good to hear. Now, tell me, and this question is also for Peeta's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Mellark. Tell us, how is the news of your young teenagers getting married to you? How are you handling the news? Is it a good thing, a shocking thing?"

My mother clears her throat and says quietly, "I was surprised, at hearing about it."

"Do you approve, though, Mrs. Everdeen? All of this could come to a halt if we don't have your permission," Caesar says, making everyone laugh. I raise an eyebrow. He's lying, though. Snow wouldn't not make Peeta and I get married even if my mother says no.

"I . . . . approve," my mother says slowly, and everyone in the crowd stands up and cheers and screams. As if they had expected my mother to say no when there was all the trouble we had gone to. I gulp as I look to my mother, who is looking at Prim. She approves of the wedding. The marriage, I mean, not the wedding. She, I know, actually doesn't mind Peeta and I getting married, though we are a bit young for her taste. It's the fact that we're getting forced to be married in the Capitol that she doesn't like.

Caesar repeats the same question and looks expectant as Mrs. Mellark gives him a very sharp glare. I can hear Peeta gulp, and his jaw flinches as his dad clears his throat and says, "I'm very happy for them."

"We understand that you, Mr. Mellark, were the one who showed Katniss to Peeta back when they were young," Caesar says. He smiles as he adds, "Playing matchmaker, are we?"

Mr. Mellark smiles and says, "Yes, I suppose so."

"That was a fateful day, wasn't it, Peeta, Katniss?" Caesar says, turning to us.

"It's a day I look back on with . . . . a lot of memories," says Peeta.

"Of course, Peeta, of course. Katniss, do you remember much about that day?" I sit up straighter. Here I go.

"Well, being only five back then, the . . . memories are a bit hard to remember, but I remember seeing Peeta for the first time," I say. Oi. So much for sounding like myself though stronger. I sit up straighter and say, looking at Peeta, "Back then, I didn't think that that day would be significant." I'm going to play the crowd as I face the head camera and say, without any romance in my voice, "But it was."

The crowd awws as Peeta gently grabs my hand. The districts won't find that romantic. They'll find it as a day that changed the nation forever. We look back to Caesar, and I say, "It was probably the most significant day of my life, having him notice me."

"It's hard not to notice you, Katniss. You certainly have proved to everyone that there was a reason that Peeta noticed you, and loved you," Caesar says quietly, and the tension here is thick enough to cut with a knife. "After all, being the Girl on Fire, there's a lot of attention on you, and Peeta. How are you handling the joy you've been getting? Overwhelming?"

"Well, it's hard not to get overwhelmed, Caesar," Peeta smiles, and he's looking at me while he does so.

"It's been fine. I've been traveling a lot, because of the Victor's Tour, but, despite it all, I've been with Peeta, and well, what more would I want?" I say, and I know it's the right thing to say as the crowds practically dies at my words.

I can feel Mrs. Mellark's glare from here as Caesar continues with the interview. He talks to everyone, from the gushing Effie who's very excited, Haymitch, who is sober for once, to little Posy, who is 'excited for Cousin Katniss's wedding.' I'm only glad that the five-year-old remembers to think of me as a cousin and not a friend of the family, specifically of her older brother.

Mrs. Mellark only answers a question or two, and Cort and Bryce only a couple as well as Vick, Rory and Gale, but besides myself and Peeta, Prim, my mother, Mr. Mellark and Haymitch are in the spotlight. They do well, and when the questions come to Peeta and I, I calm down and give Caesar a good, swift answer that sends everyone shouting. Peeta squeezes my hand encouragingly when that happens.

After nearly half an hour, Caesar calms the crowd and then turning to us, says, "Well, we'll get to the final questions in a bit, but first," he turns to face the crowd, "we have a very special presentation."

My insides feel like they're on fire as I sit up straight, and the smile that was on my face disappears. I gulp and Peeta's hold on my hand tightens. I'm annoyed, that they're going to air everything that's happened that they got on camera. I don't care that the films have already been seen on TV. I don't care. My jaw clenches and I look out over the crowd as Caesar introduces the film.

My eyes catch sight of the crowd before they're engulfed in the darkness. They're clapping, their comically painted faces shining in the dark. Their ugly clothes and additions make them look nothing more than dressed up dolls. Times ten. They all look grotesque, and I feel myself loathing each and every one of them. All of them cheered on the Hunger Games where innocent kids go to die for their amusement.

I barely watch the film as it plays. It has material from our Hunger Games. Some from the Tributes' Parade, some from the interviews (especially when Peeta declared his love for me. Oh, the crowd loved that), and a lot from the cave. Peeta and I spent most of our time together in that cave, and that was when I first started to show him some affection. I lean against his shoulder as we watch as I slip him the syrup covered berries. Oh, the commentary is so tear ridden that I'm doing it out of love.

Interviews sprout up after the Games, some of old ones from back at the final eight and some recent, with Prim and my mother. The Mellarks have their interviews and so does the Hawthornes, mostly Gale, but the real one who gets interviewed the most is Haymitch. Though he's about as good with words as I am, he tells everyone that we have a true love, but the Quarter Quell is going to separate us someone, knowing that Peeta could go in.

At the end, everyone in the crowd is an emotional mess. They're weeping, and there's gnashing of teeth. I look out over them as the lights come back on. My eyes are hard, cold and unrelenting.

"That was quite a film," Caesar says once he can be heard over the crowd.

"Oh, yes," Peeta says, and he looks at me and says quietly, "Can't believe that we experienced all of that together."

I give him a small smile as Caesar says, "You two have been through so much. I have to say, on behalf of everyone here in the Capitol, we are completely sorry that Katniss will have to go back into the arena."

They won't be after I'm actually in there. "As is the Hunger Games," I say quietly before I look back at Peeta, not able to talk anymore.

"Yes, yes, as is the Hunger Games. Does it scare you, Peeta, that Katniss is going back into the arena, no matter what?" Caesar asks Peeta.

"A bit, yeah," he says quietly.

"You might be going in yourself, you know. It's between you and your old mentor. Who will be Reaped, do you think?" Caesar asks.

The crowd quiets as Peeta says, "It doesn't matter whose name gets picked." He looks at me and says, "I love Katniss, and I want to protect her, even in the arena."

"Meaning what, Peeta?" asks Caesar.

Everyone is listening is Peeta says, "It means that no matter what, I'm going into that arena."

**Yes. I'm struggling with Katniss's approach here. On one hand, she doesn't have to play the romance hand, and she wants the rebellion to happen, but she also doesn't want her own family caught up in it. AHHHHHHHH.**

**Thankies for reading!**


	7. The Night Before the Wedding

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Hunger Games. Thanks for reading!**

**~ Katniss Everdeen's point of view ~  
**

"Well, there goes your element of surprise," Haymitch says as Peeta and I ride with him in the elevator.

I squeeze Peeta's hand encouragingly. Sure, now all of the other victors know who's going into the Quarter Quell from District 12, but Peeta has once again stunned and shocked the Capitol crowd.

The whole place had been pandemonium when the program ended. Caesar hadn't been able to make a good big goodbye, for everyone was talking and screaming and were generally being loud and inconsolable, for the beloved star-crossed lovers of District 12 were going back into the arena. Together. He instead simply looked to a camera and said as calmly and loudly as he could that he hoped that things would work out well for poor Peeta and Katniss, and he signed off.

Peacekeepers marched onto the stage as the cameras died off to escort us off. I held onto Peeta's hand and reached for Prim's as they surrounded us and took us off the stage, protecting us from the crowd.

Once we were backstage, I dropped Prim's hand and patted her shoulder, and she looked back at me with big eyes.

"That was scary," she said.

"I know," I replied, and we were all escorted to the elevators. Even now, Haymitch and Peeta and I have two Peacekeepers in the elevator with us. They're not paying attention to us, though; their eyes are trained ahead, their hands encasing their guns.

"The crowd liked it," Peeta says.

"The crowd nearly had a simultaneous heart attack," Haymitch tells him quickly. He turns away and adds, "Good job, kid."

Peeta smiles and I smile and our eyes meet. I think our interview went rather well.

* * *

The morning of the day of the big party with the victors and wedding party and hand selected guests from the Capitol by the President, the victors arrive in trains. I can see from one of the windows in the penthouse that there's train after train coming into the station. The streets of the Capitol are packed with cars and people, all looking for a glimpse of the still living victors of Panem. Fifty-six still have to join us.

I go over to Peeta's bedroom and ask him if we wants to meet the victors. Their cars are coming to the Training Center. Symbolic, apparently, and that means that they're going to have apartments here. I want to see if I can see them before they head to the Remake Center.

The Hawthornes are moved up to our penthouse. Posy now shares a room with Prim and I and Hazelle gets one of the smaller bedrooms while Gale shares one with Rory and Vick. Peeta still gets his own room until after the wedding. I'll be sharing it with him until we head home.

He agrees and having no appointments today (Effie's out with Cinna and Portia until we get ready this afternoon), we head down in the elevator.

The door opens and we walk out of the elevator. We can see Peacekeepers all around the windows, protecting the victors and blocking their view. Escorts are walking in through the one door, all looking prim and polished and waxed and sanded and puppet-like. Peeta and I keep straight faces at them as they walk to the elevators, knowing what floor they are to go to.

The victors all come in, though it takes three hours for them all to show up. Peeta and I settle for sitting on benches in the lobby when they're not coming in. District 9comes in along with District 10, and we wave to them, though Peeta and I are cautious. Are these people going to be the people that we face in the arena? They seem nice though some of them are morphlings, addicted to the stuff and looking like they haven't slept in days.

Districts 1 and 2 come along, looking smug with nearly twenty victors from their districts. They all give us a slight nod, for we are getting married. That's simply their way of telling us congratulations without losing the persona of being tough Careers. They look sort of annoyed, though. I plucked them from their houses in Districts 1 and 2 to come to my wedding and they don't like it. I expected nothing less of them.

5 comes along and I remember that Foxface was from that district. The people from there are just morphlings, though. I wonder now that if Foxface won, would she have turned to morphling? I highly doubt it. She would have known what happened to the other victors in her district. She would have been smarter than making herself nothing but a walking piece of yellow flesh.

6 passes by with more morphlings and then comes in Districts 4 and 7. While 4 is a Career district, they don't have really big victors. There's a couple of regular size guys and then there's Mags, a woman who I remember being a mentor, a wild eyed looking young woman, looking a bit scared but excited, who's holding onto Finnick Freakin' Odair's arm. Weird. She doesn't look like she's from the Capitol. Must be another victor.

Oh, Finnick, the love of practically every woman in the Capitol. With bronze hair, chiseled features and an easy grin, there's no no loving Finnick. I'm not attracted to him, though. He's not my type. Plus, I'm getting married tomorrow.

He's protective over the younger woman on his arm, but he's also talking to one of the victors from 7. Johanna Mason. She was the girl who acted weak in her Games until it came down to just a few. Then she went for the kills.

At the moment, the three of them, walking along, look perfectly normal, non-killers. I squint my eyes at the young woman, though, for I can hardly remember if she killed anyone.

"Who's that with Finnick?" I ask Peeta.

"Annie Cresta. She won a couple of years ago," Peeta replies.

"The Games with the earthquake, the one when the dam broke?"

"That's the one," Peeta says, and he looks over to the three.

I nod. She didn't kill anyone, now, I remember. A dam broke because of the earthquake and she won by staying afloat the longest. She won because she didn't drown.

Finnick turns his head from Johanna and spots us, and Johanna listens to him, rolling her eyes, as they walk over to us.

"Hey, congratulations, you two! Tying the knot!" says Finnick with a grin. Annie looks up at him with shining eyes.

"Thanks," says Peeta easily.

I'm not too easy about making friends with them. I could be facing either one of them in the Quarter Quell, and I don't want them to stab me in the back by pretending to be my friend. No. I'm not going to be friends or try to be friends with any of these victors. I don't care how charming Finnick is or how Johanna is sneaky and might make a good ally or anything. My sole job is to keep my baker boy alive and have him win the Games. I know now it's best not to get attached to any of these people.

So, I need to not be too friendly with Johanna, Finnick or Annie. They'll only think about us being allies. I don't want them to be my allies. On the other hand, they could just be mentors for the Games. Who knows? Even if they're mentors, though, they'll have their victors to keep alive. No friends with them.

So I just nod, not smiling.

"Bet everyone is going crazy," Annie says quietly.

"There was a lot of people, outside, Annie. They were excited not only to see us but because of the wedding," Finnick says gently, looking to her. I raise an eyebrow. Is he with one of his fellow victors, then? I haven't heard of anything of this. I didn't know anything at all. Mags's the mentor for District 4 along with Finnick. Annie's never been a mentor. This is probably one of her only times in the Capitol.

"Oh. Okay," Annie replies, and she leans against his arm.

"Watched the interview last night. Had to. Mandatory viewing. Working the crowd, huh, Peeta?" and Johanna has her arms folded and a smile on her face and I'm immediately suspicious of what she's trying to find out.

"They seemed to like it," he replies and Finnick smiles.

"We have to go now. See you two at the party tonight," and he winks and walks away, Annie still hanging onto his arm.

I watch him leave before Johanna raises an eyebrow and says, "Likewise," and follows her escort and the rest of District 7 into their elevator.

"What just happened?" I say, looking to Peeta.

"Not too sure I know," he says with a laugh.

I frown and stand up and say, "I'm tired of all the congratulations we've been getting."

"Me too. Wanna head back to the penthouse?" Peeta asks.

"Please," I say, and we somehow manage to score an elevator. Thank goodness. I'm about done with the victors of the Annual Hunger Games.

* * *

The party starts at seven and will carry on for hours. I know this from the parties we had on the Victor's Tour and the party we had at the Capitol.

We all arrive at the party, which is high in the sky and has a balcony and big windows that reach down to the floor. Luckily, I don't have to wear one of my other wedding dresses. Thank you, President Snow. Cinna has me in a black, strapless dress that's smooth and reaches down to my knees. I have a dark red shawl that rests on my arms and pearl earrings.

All the boys and Mr. Mellark wear suits, all grandeur and just one of them is more expensive than the Mayor's house back in District 12. Except for Peeta. He wears black pants, a white shirt with a fancy black vest over it and a black tie. My mother wears a white dress that's white straight through and then has a sort of gauzy silk over the white cotton of her upper torso. It's rather lovely on her. I remember how she was once pretty, when she was younger. I can see her younger self tonight.

The minute we all enter the room, everyone goes crazy. People want to speak to Prim, shake the hand of one of the cousins or brothers or parents of the star-crossed lovers. People smile at Posy and talk so fast to Hazelle that she can barely understand what they're saying, but the people that are getting the most attention are the two people of the night. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark.

Creepy looking men kiss my hand, compliment my dress, and I'm actually relieved when I see Finnick, dressed in a black suit, Annie still holding onto his arm.

"Hey Katniss," he says in his cheerful voice.

My hand has never left Peeta's grip, and I pull on his hand to get his attention.

"Act like we're going to have a conversation with us," I say to both of them, and I pull them away. Everyone tries to follow us, of course, for we're the happy couple and two victors, but Haymitch, thankfully, manages to remind everyone of the entirely too big buffet. Thank you, Haymitch. At the moment, I'm not furious at him.

The four of us head to the balcony, which gives us a lovely view of the lit Capitol. Avoxes open the door and us two couples step toward the railing. I let go of Peeta's hand and folding my arms, lean over the railing slightly.

"It's so different from District Four," Annie says.

Finnick nods and says, looking around for a moment, "Things are like that, Annie. They like the lights here."

"Don't they like the ocean, Finnick? The ocean is so beautiful," she says quietly.

"I saw the ocean when Katniss and I were on the Victor's Tour. You have a beautiful ocean, Annie," Peeta says to her.

"Thank you, Peeta," Annie says loftily.

We all look back out over the brightly lit, artificial Capitol. I have a feeling that they, like me, are not thinking of how wonderful the Capitol is but how our plain districts are, while deadly and suffering, beautiful in their own way. At least they're not artificial like the Capitol. The people of our districts aren't artificial either, unlike the Capitol citizens, with their cat whiskers and embedded beads and tattoos. I gulp and lean against Peeta, thankful that he's real (except for his leg, but it's a part of him now) and that he doesn't look grotesque and fake. He's sturdy, and normal. He's Peeta.

The noises of the party behind us bleed through the glass doors, and after a few minutes of us being quiet and not swamped by Capitolians, Finnick clears his throat and says, "Come on, Annie. You and I have to go."

"Go where?" she asks.

"Remember what I told you earlier?" he says quietly, his hands on her shoulders, tucking a bit of her dark hair behind her ear. He looks to the building and I wonder if he thinks that the Capitol is watching him. Peeta and I can hear him, though I can tell he's trying to stay quiet. I'm curious, though. What is this thing that Finnick and Annie have to do on the night before my wedding?

"Now, Finnick?" Annie says.

"Yeah. Afterwards, you and me can try all the cakes and stuff. Nothing but desserts. How's that sound?" he asks her.

"Can we have oysters too?" she asks him.

He smiles and says quietly, "Of course. Whatever you want."

"Okay," and she walks off with him, looking like a couple. I turn my head to catch them leaving before I turn to Peeta and say, "What were they talking about?"

"I dunno," Peeta says. He nods to the roof and says, "You think that the Capitol heard them?"

"I think he was trying to be a little discreet," I say. "Want to go inside and see if anything's happening in there?"

"Sure," Peeta says, and we head back into the party.

Everyone seems to be walking around with drinks now. The buffet is crowded, though. There's chefs making raw fish sushi, I think it's called, and a bar and station after station of foods. They're like floating tables, all over one side of the room. I can see that Peeta and my from home guests are enjoying themselves. I just hope that Gale doesn't catch sight of the puking juice station. I gulp and say to Peeta, "You know what would make this party even worse?"

"What now?" Peeta says.

"If your brothers or Prim or Vick or Rory or Posy find the puking drinks," I say.

"That would be disgusting," Peeta says, and I nod.

"You going to be needing it?" Peeta asks me.

I look at him, incredulous. "I would never use that. You haven't seen the kids from the Seam, Peeta. There are literally people dropping from malnourishment."

"Katniss, I wasn't being serious. I was just wondering if you were going to attempt to try everything on the buffet again," he says, waving over to the floating tables. "I didn't mean to make you mad."

"Well, don't joke about it," I say. I shudder and say, "Well, Peeta, let's see what I can do."

"So you're actually trying to sample everything again?" Peeta says as he follows me as I weave my way around the dancing couples and people holding plates, making my way to the buffet.

"I imagine that Cinna wouldn't be too happy if my wedding dress doesn't fix tomorrow," I tell him. Somehow, though, a part of me wants to do just that. Make the dress too small, and have to wear a different dress. Make Snow all mad because he went to so much trouble in having my wedding dress picked out when I can't wear it. Maybe I should, but I also don't want to feel like someone kicked me in the belly and want to vomit up my stomach ache.

"What's the plan this evening, then?" Peeta says, rubbing his hands together.

I turn to face him and say with a mischievous smile, "We eat what we want."

We load our plates with several different foods, all ranging from the fork tender roasted meat that's blood red to the stringy cheese that can stretch forever and ever and ever. I take some cheese buns, though I highly doubt they can compare to the buns that Peeta makes. He's a really great baker, I'll give him that.

We stand near the musicians, which is on a sort of stage, and I also feel like we're blending in with everyone. Nobody is coming up to talk to us, to congratulate us, to tell us that they are so excited because it's the night before our wedding. They're all actually leaving us alone, and it's nice.

It's weird, though. It's the night before I have to marry Peeta, the boy who confessed on live TV to all of Panem that he's in love with me. Peeta, the boy that I tried to save in the arena despite my non-knowledge of healing. The boy I at one point wanted to kill. Now I want to keep him alive and now I'm marrying him. Who would have though that his little declaration of love could have done all this?

I'm not, for some reason, worried. I'm not feeling scared, nervous, or even very excited. Maybe it's because there's been so much hype for it that I'm already settled down with the idea and am just waiting for the wedding to commence.

"Nervous?" I ask Peeta now, looking over to him, my plate nearly empty.

He puts his spoon on his plate and shrugs. "A bit, I guess. It's like this is the day of the Reaping. You're kinda nervous that'll be you, but you kind of know in the back of your mind that there's a lot of other people making the odds smaller. I dunno. I'm that kind of nervous."

"I wouldn't know that," I say. "People from the Seam have a lot more names in the Reaping. The odds are never really in our favor."

Peeta sighs and says, "You nervous?"

"Not really. I think I've kind of accepted it," I say.

He nods and we look out over the party and suddenly I realize something. Several of the victors are missing. I can spot many from 1, 2, 5, 9 and 10 walking around, drinking, talking, chatting up the citizens of the Capitol, but I can't see Finnick or Annie or Mags or Johanna or even Haymitch's friend Chaff. Matter of fact, I don't even see Haymitch.

I mention all of this to Peeta, and he too looks around, a curious and confused look on his face.

"That's strange," he says.

"Where did they go?" I say.

"I have no idea. Did they all go to the same place?" he says.

"Probably. They're all gone," I say. "Come on." We take our plates to the buffet tables and hid them away before we make our way to one of the many doors. All of the doors have Avoxes near them, with shiny knobs and are pure white.

We peek through one door to see chefs running around and then in another to see a closet with a kissing couple. Peeta and I widen our eyes and immediately closing the door. Peeta nearly laughs at the face I'm making.

"Shut it, you," I retort, and he stops and we hear something going on that's making everyone in the room besides us and the Avoxes clap. Peeta and I head toward the stage, where everyone is facing, and we see and hear Finnick making some sort of congratulations speech for us. He's making the crowd laugh and cry and faint and nearly die but I don't listen to what he's saying. I'm looking around the crowd, and I can see that the other victors are back. The black haired victors from 3, Johanna is clapping and Haymitch's friend Chaff is back, laughing and drinking with Haymitch.

I frown as Finnick finishes up, making everyone clap harder. I look up at Finnick, who's grinning as he hands the microphone back to the singer and heads off of the stage to Annie and Mags. What was he doing, making a speech in our honor? I can tell that none of the victors here are being nice just because they're nice people. Well, maybe Annie and Peeta, but those two are about it. The two who didn't kill. The rest are trying hard to be friendly, and I can see through them. I don't want them as allies. At least, I don't want any of them now. I'll see what I might do when I see who actually gets reaped.

There's a big cake that's brought out and everyone crowds to the dessert bar. I allow Peeta to go and show his parents the pastries of the Capitol, and somehow feel grateful that I can roam around alone now. I don't know where I want to go, though, so I just get a cup of orange juice and head to the balcony.

Everyone is inside, so I'm slightly surprised to see Gale leaning over the railing of the balcony.

"Hey," I say, and I'm beside him, swirling the orange juice around in my glass.

"Hey," he says, and his voice sounds slightly husky as he looks out into the brightly lit Capitol.

"Like the party?" I ask him quietly.

"Do you?" he asks, looking to face me.

"It's too much," I say. "Everyone from the Capitol is kind of freaking me out."

"Ha. Me too," he replies. He gulps and then says, "I see that your opponents are here."

"I know. Isn't nice that the people I'm going to have to kill have been invited to my wedding?" I say. Snow's so awfully considerate.

A moment passes before he says, "This is worse than I imagined."

"The Capitol doesn't compare when it's on the TV," I say sarcastically. I get what he's saying. Hasn't he been the one who's been complaining to me about the Capitol for years? I can barely think of what he must be thinking right now, having experienced nearly a week of the Capitol. Being primped, pampered, interviewed and treated as a celebrity when in reality we're just guests who can be gone with just an order from the President of our lovely nation.

I drain my orange juice and don't feel hungry for any of the Capitol sweets on the buffet behind the doors behind me.

"It's sick," he spits.

"I know," I reply.

"And the districts tolerate this," he hisses, and I can tell that he's wary that there might be cameras. He's barely moving his lips as he speaks, too.

"What can we do, Gale?" I ask him.

"Rebel, that's what. You're being forced into a union that you don't want to be a part of. Marriage isn't something you can just force someone to do, Catnip, and that's just one reason among a ton that says that we should rebel," he says.

I gulp and silently, without words, agree. He's right, and what can either of us do about it? Nothing, at the moment. Right now, we're in our enemy's territory. Look at us. Attending their party. Doing what their leader forces us to do. Gale's right. Perhaps my wedding, instead of being the thing that brings the districts together, will be the breaking point, and drive the districts into rebellion.

Suddenly, I wonder what kind of District 12 I'll return to. What if, on the night of my wedding, with everyone in the Capitol occupied with the celebration, they all just . . . . rebel? What then? Will we be forced to stay in the Capitol as prisoners? Surely the districts wouldn't do that, knowing that we're here in the Capitol. Not with all the victors stuck in enemy territory.

I shake and remember that I'm thinking of something theoretical. Right? It's all theoretical. But is it?

"Better get back inside before your guests discover you're missing," Gale says, and I instantly retort, "I didn't invite any of them."

"Yeah. President Snow did," Gale says, and he heads back into the party, leaving me watching him leave with a feeling of annoyance to him. He still doesn't get the whole part of 'Oh, you needed to come to the Capitol or else Snow would have you die in the mines due to an unfortunate 'accident.''

I sigh and shake my head and look once more over the Capitol before the artificial lights blind me and I clumsily make my way back into the party.

The evening finishes up with Finnick and Johanna bringing me to the spotlight and microphone, making Peeta and Haymitch laugh, Effie purse her lips, and we went up entertaining the guests at my expense. Finnick and Johanna have a good friendship, though they don't live in the same districts. They're bound to be allies if they both get reaped. I'm seeing now that my avoiding them is not working at all.

We all head back to the Training Center at around one. The elevators are packed, and I'm somehow surprised as I watch the tipsy Capitol guests that the party didn't last until three or four in the morning. Doesn't matter, though. I need my sleep, anyway. Last night didn't have much for me.

The victors are all reasonably sober and so are Peeta and my guests. Posy is leaning against Gale's shoulder, fast asleep. Wee lamb. Prim's leaning against my mother, looking at the ground with tired eyes. My mother strokes her hair and leads her onto an elevator along with the other Mellarks. Mr. Mellark is tapping his wife on the shoulder to keep her awake and his sons are looking around like crazy, having not had so much alcohol before. I hope they don't have any hangovers tomorrow. I didn't drink any alcohol at all. Wouldn't want a hangover on my wedding day.

We make our way to the elevator, and I'm with Peeta, Posy, a grim Gale, Chaff and Beetee, a tribute from District 3.

We're all quiet, but we can all feel the tension glowing off of Gale. Except for Posy, who's snoozing quietly.

I gulp when I realize that he's going to be like this tomorrow. In front of all the cameras. Here we go.

We get back to our penthouse and everyone waves a good night before we all stumble to our beds, too tired to do much else.

"Hey. Katniss?" Peeta says as Gale heads into my room to put Posy down. I look over to him, and he clears his throat and says, "Good night."

"Good night, Peeta," I say. He nods and then moves his hands about a bit before he hurries into his bedroom.

I can't help but smile at his nervousness and head into my bedroom.

Prim's gathering up clothes for her to wear during the night and Gale's straightening as he lays Posy in her bed.

"She doesn't need her pajamas," he says.

I nod, knowing that putting pajamas on her will only wake her up.

"Good night," he says before I can get anything in word-wise.

"Good night," I say, and he leaves, saying, "Night, Prim."

"Good night, Gale," she yawns before she heads into the bathroom.

I watch the door close before I shrug off my clothes and put on my pajamas. Tank and shorts. The one outfit I wear at night if it isn't my underwear. At least I have that little consistency in my life, because everything else is turned around and upside down.

As I sink into my bed and pull the pillow under my head, I think back to a year ago. Back to when Gale and I used to hunt together in the woods. Back when Prim was safe and playing with her stupid cat and when my mother was coming back and when I didn't know much about Peeta Mellark. Now, I have to marry him.

A year ago, would I have thought that I would have to marry the boy who gave me the bread that kept my family from starving? The bread that gave me hope, that kept them and me alive? No. No, I would have thought that thought as crazy.

Look at me now. Tomorrow morning, at eleven o'clock, Katniss Everdeen, me, is going to marry my fellow victor. Peeta Mellark. The boy with the bread.

**I hope I didn't go too overboard with, "YOUGUYSYOUGUYSHAVESOMEVICTOR S HAVESOMELOVELYFINNICKANDANNI E OHJOHANNASHOWEDUPTOOHEHEHE " or anything. **

**I hoped you liked it, and thank you for reading.**


	8. Wove, Twue Wove

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Hunger Games or anything from the Princess Bride. HERE'S DA WEDDING PART. **

**~ Katniss Everdeen's point of view ~  
**

I wake up earlier than Peeta, and feeling somewhat hungry, I order something and food appears in my room. I sit on my bed, and realize that I'm getting married today. Things are all going to fall into place today, and there's nothing that either Gale or I can do about it. My mind reels as I think, trying to detangle all of the thoughts I have in my mind. So many things have happened since I left home.

An image of Finnick rushing off with Annie and then remembering how I didn't see many of the victors last night for nearly fifteen minutes flashes in my brain. Where did they go off to? I might never know, and the thought will nag me in my mind until the day I die in the arena. Gale's voice fills my head with his annoyance against the Capitol, which has more than doubled since the day he went on that train. He's out for vengeance. If everyone else is like him, there's going to be a rebellion soon. Very, very soon.

I take a deep breath and wonder who I can talk about all this with. Gale is too annoyed. For some reason, I'm not allowed to see Peeta until the actual ceremony. Some weird Capitol wedding tradition once again keeping us apart. It'll only worry my mother and Prim. There's Haymitch, but he's most likely drunk from last night. The alcohol reigned supreme.

Cinna is already in enough danger, with Snow changing around with his plans. Maybe it was because Cinna was the one who came up with my Girl on Fire presentation.

I'm alone in my thoughts. I'm trapped. I'm like a bug stuck in a web, and Snow is the spider. He's out to catch me, since I'm now in his web.

Effie will be here in a minute to tell me, "It's a big, big, big day!" and whisk me away to my prep team, who I hope can keep doing their job. They're going to be like kids on sugar. It's not everyday they get invited to the biggest wedding in the Capitol, after all.

I'm right when Effie bursts in and says, "Katniss, today is a big, big, big day!" She's glowing, literally, as she helps me up by grabbing my arms and says, "We must get going, quickly, quickly, quickly! We have a schedule, after all."

I put some clothes on and we pass by Peeta's room and I can't help but look at his door before we head out the door.

I wonder if he's awake now.

My prep team, to my annoyance and astonishment, are bubbling messes. Their makeup streams as they apply mine, and Venia makes Flavius clean up himself so that he can see as she wipes away the lipstick that's on the skin above my lip.

Octavia does my nails once more, and sometimes she just bursts out with things like, "They're only going to be married for a few weeks!"

"Shut it, Octavia," Venia says sharply as she wipes at her own eye, messing up her eyebrows. For their sake, I hope they tidy themselves up before they come to the wedding or they'll die of embarrassment.

Octavia sniffs and I wish that they would stop. It's not like I'm going to my death. Not yet, anyway. They're going to act like this when I go into the arena. I just know it. I better get used to the tears, which have started to flow freely when Venia orders Octavia to go help Cinna get out everything for my wedding dress.

My hair is oiled down and is pulled back with ringlets hanging near my ears. My lips are touched with pink lipstick and I have smoky orange and black eyes, which remind me of coal. Burning. Glowing. Cinna's the one who told my prep team what to put on me. This will be a subtle touch of rebellion. My being the Girl on Fire, to go with my wedding dress, which will be pure white.

Once I'm done, Effie is the one who escorts me to Cinna, for Venia is choked up and Flavius never returned. We enter the dressing room and Octavia takes one look at me and then runs out, and I'm kind of grateful to her for doing that. I want my time with Cinna without her sniffles and cries.

Effie leaves, saying something about attending to some flower arrangement and seeing that Peeta is with Portia and everything else like that.

Cinna gets me into my dress, which is literally covered with pearls. I feel weighed down with the jewels as they pull on my sleeves and torso. It's a comfortable fit, though, like they're needed to keep the dress from being slimming and weightless and something that shouldn't touch my tough, weather-beaten skin.

"This was the winner," he says quietly. Neither of us talk much. Neither of us feel like talking about the subject at hand.

I slip into white slippers and I wear pearl jewelry. Everything about me glows with elegance and wealth, and I feel like neither. In District 12, both of those are unheard of. They're turning me into one of their Capitol puppets, doing what the Capitol wants. I loathe it. I know Cinna's only doing what he knows what to do, and he's just adding the jewelry to accent my dress. He's just trying to make this situation better.

I step back and he nods.

"Want me to twirl?" I ask quietly, not sounding happy.

"You look fine, Katniss," he says. "Though, when you can, twirl for the camera."

Sounds like an odd request but I nod before the door opens to reveal Effie, who squeals, "Oh, Katniss! You look positively beautiful!"

"What time is it?" I say.

"Nearly nine, let's go, hurry!" she says, and I look to Cinna and he offers me his arm.

I take his arm and we walk out of the room and follow Effie to an elevator.

We're escorted into a white room, and at the end, there's a bunch of booths. I can hear my mother and sister and Hazelle and Posy and even the grumblings of Mrs. Mellark as they get dressed. There's makeup artists waiting for them to pop out so that they can adjust their makeup. Avoxes stand near the door.

I sit down and look and see a TV on, featuring live footage of the Capitol.

"An interviewer is coming to ask you questions in a couple of minutes," and Effie winks and hurries away. The door makes a loud noise as it closes, and I feel it. This is a waiting room. I'm with Cinna. This is like the Stockyard; the holding rooms before the Games. This is the place I wait in before I head into the slaughter.

At the sound of the door, Prim calls, "You here, Katniss?"

"Yeah. So's Cinna," I say, and the booth's door creaks and out comes Prim.

"Oh, Prim," I say, standing up and hurrying over to her. I throw a dangerous glance at the highly covered makeup artist ready to decorate her and she scoffs and backs away, not willing to refuse the Girl on Fire on her wedding day. Good.

I put my hands on Prim's shoulders and take her in, from her biting her lip in nervousness to the pretty folds coiling around her legs.

"You look beautiful, little duck," I tell her.

"Not as pretty as you, Katniss," she says.

"Don't say that," I say. "You looker prettier than I ever could."

She shakes her head and she sits with me as things start to blur. Things happen fast as the impending wedding hour comes closer and closer. Cameramen come in and film us. I shakily answer the questions that the interviewer, a pink woman wearing dark orange and light yellow clothes, rattles off, faster and faster and faster.

Effie squeals at us. Cameramen go away as wedding planners come in, telling me of the flower arrangements and of their congratulations toward me. I don't need their congratulations. I look at them somewhat coldly as they babble away.

They leave and I turn to Prim and say, "Want to go exploring?"

She thinks that we'll get caught, but I reassure her. So what if we get caught? The only thing they'll think we're doing is trying to sneak a peek of Peeta before the ceremony. As if I'm doing that. I want to see what's happening.

There's tons of rooms, all colorful and busy. People are all rushing about, and Prim and I peek around a corner to see a set of double doors revealing peeks of a big room that people come rushing out of, Avoxes carrying multiple things. Citizens all decked out in their best flowers and feathers and wigs and colors are entering, no doubt invited guests who I know nothing about. All here to watch my wedding, something supposed to be private and special. Private is not a word that's associated with me here in the Capitol, though. Just the viewing of my relationship with Peeta two nights ago proves just that.

Prim and I decide it's best not to go in there and we roam around, smelling the smells and taking in the sights of the kitchen, which is insane. Never have Prim and I ever seen so much food in our lives. An entire counter is just covered in cookies. COOKIES. All of those cookies would feed District 12 and make their lives and all of them here are for one night. One day. My wedding.

Suddenly feeling terribly selfish, I hurry Prim and I out and we explore rooms, peeking into the rooms, scaring the occupants. Won't the live reporters have a good time explaining why they can't find the bride? Ruining their part of my wedding day is the only thing I have left at the moment.

It's fun to do something with Prim. We never really played or anything like that back in District 12. I was the one who was acting like her mother, keeping her fed and safe. She's grown up now, though, and I'm not taxed with those responsibilities now. We have time to waste. It's fun to waste time with her.

We decide to make our way back to the room with my mother and Posy and Hazelle and Mrs. Mellark, knowing that the ceremony is coming up soon. I lag behind, though, and have Prim hold my hand, dragging me ahead.

We pass a door and I hear voices behind it. I instantly recognize them as Haymitch and Finnick's voices.

I stop walking and Prim looks to me and I say, "Stop."

"What?" she asks as she joins me by the door. I lean against it with my right ear, the one that the Capitol didn't touch. Trying to find out what they're talking about. Their rooms with dressing and stuff are on the other side of the building. I know that because Effie told me so that I wouldn't go and try to find Peeta and ruin the entire thing and make everything I've done since inexcusable.

"That's Haymitch," Prim says.

I nod and she leans to. They're arguing about something. Something they don't want anyone else to know. Prim looks at me with fearful eyes and I look back to the door, knowing that whatever they're talking about is important.

Words come out that I can make out. Things like "Fish is . . ." "They're ready, we just have to . . ." "What did Johanna have to say?"

Suddenly their voices stop, and Prim and I share one bewildered look before we're both knocked back.

Grunting, I use my arms to sit up and I look up to see Haymitch and Finnick looking at the two of us. Both look somewhat annoyed.

"What are you two doing?" asks Haymitch as Finnick bends down and helps Prim up, who's looking mortified.

"Trying to listen in. Anything you want to tell us about?" I say.

"No," Haymitch says as I stand up. He looks at me for a moment before he says, "You two get back to your mother. No need to run around and ruin your wedding dress."

He begins to walk away with Finnick and I retort to his back, "I wasn't ruining it!"

"We probably shouldn't have done that," Prim says as I turn and we start quickly walking back to the waiting room. I can barely hear her over my pounding, angry heart and my own annoyed breathing.

"It's fine. Prim, forget about it," I tell her. She nods and we hurry on.

I won't forget about it, though. There's something going on, something that I don't know about. It has to do with Haymitch and some of the other victors. They're doing something. They're sneaking around, and I don't think that they're hiding too much from me as from the Peacekeepers all around us. There's more Peacekeepers in this building than in District 12. They have to protect the victors, after all.

Effie's very annoyed when we come back that we ran off. Twelve minutes to the wedding and she has to line up the wedding party. She's frantically calling everyone to follow her as we hurry down the hallway. I hold Prim's hand and Cinna is walking right next to me. His presence is helping me keep calm in a time where I now feel like panicking because I am about to get married.

The halls are nearly empty now, except for the cameramen, who stay silent as they keep their cameras trained on us. Avoxes stand at the doors, ready to open them. Effie flies about, pushing us around to be in spots she wants us to be in. Posy in front with flowers and Vick with the rings. I catch a slight glimpse of them but all I can see is gold. Gold wedding rings. We barely have enough for copper ones in the districts.

Prim's put with Rory and poor old Cort and Bryce and grim Gale will have to walk alone. Mrs. Mellark and my mother are walked away with Mr. Mellark to the front of the people. They disappear into the room, and I suddenly feel very alone, despite having tons of people I know around me. This is it. This is the part where I have to marry Peeta Mellark and please the people of the Capitol and President Snow.

How I wish I'm not a piece in their Games.

Cinna turns to me and I look at him and he gives me a kiss on the cheek before he says quietly, "I'm betting on you."

"Thank you," I whisper, and he nods and hurries into the ceremony room, and I feel more alone than ever.

Suddenly I can hear music, and Effie's whispering instructions to everyone, something about steps and numbers and it's complicated and Prim looks scared as Effie turns from her to Cort.

The music swells and the door opens and I go to the side so that no one looking down the aisle can see me. Posy and Vick go ahead and I can tell already that this is going to be an even more emotional affair for the Capitol than for me. I'm not the one sobbing at the sight of little dark haired Posy walking down the aisle with flowers in her hand.

I lean out a bit, but Peeta's hidden from my sight, and I'm startled and look to my side to see Haymitch. Sober, in a suit, and looking dead serious. He doesn't look annoyed at me like he was earlier.

I gulp as he looks at me and says, "Hey there, sweetheart."

"What are you doing here? A word of advice before I'm the bride?" I say sarcastically, not looking at him. I'm too mad.

"I'm the one giving you away," he says.

'Giving me away?' What kind of Capitol tradition is this? Back home, you get a certificate at the Justice Building and you have a toasting at home. You invite a few friends, you rent a dress, you have some sort of food, it's fun. This is big and over the top and Effie didn't bother to tell me about Haymitch giving me away!

"What does that mean?" I say.

"It means that in the Capitol, they retain some old wedding traditions. One is that the father of the bride walks his daughter down the aisle and gives her away to the groom. With your father gone, I've been volunteered to take his place," Haymitch tells me.

Haymitch is taking place of my father? I know that there's nothing either of us can do about it, but it annoys me a bit. Haymitch is more like an annoying friend, or a colleague that's constantly drinking. He annoys me too much and sometimes I hate him and now he's giving me away.

I sigh as he links elbows with me and I say, "There's nothing we can do about it, then?"

"Nope, and someone better arrive with your flowers or Effie's going to throw a fit."

I let out a wry laugh. "She's been doing that all morning."

"That's true. She needs a drink."

"We all do," I say.

Cort and Bryce and Gale move ahead and I get a bouquet of flowers stuffed into my arms and suddenly the doors open wide and the music changes. The cameras are all pointed at us with red lights meaning that they're on, and we're live to Panem and I have to walk down the aisle.

Haymitch clears his throat and we start walking. Entering the room, I can instantly hear the gasps and cries and happy sobbing of the Capitol citizens as we walk past them. Prim and Rory turn up ahead and the three lads go up to Peeta, who I can barely as nothing more than a figure with blond hair.

We pass the citizens and cameras are zooming around and for some reason, I'm surprised that they're having this indoors. Out in the City Center would make a bit more sense. Out where the people are. Maybe they just want to be able to hear everything we say or something. Maybe, even with the Capitol, weddings have a sort of intimacy.

"Ready for this, sweetheart?" Haymitch says, barely moving his lips.

I'm not sure how to respond and I glance down at the flowers in my hands and my heart nearly stops and I'm inwardly panicking. This is on purpose. Who else would think that when the rest of the flowers in my wedding are mixed and almost wild looking they should go and put a bouquet of soft, delicate, scented, horrific, white roses in my hands.

Shaking, I gulp down my feeling of panic as we make our way closer and closer down the aisle. The President is still trying to unhinge me. Make me look pale and weak to the whole nation. Letting me be broadcasted as weak in the Capitol is not a good thing.

"Yes," I say, and we're at the end.

Haymitch looks at me and the man overseeing the ceremony asks him who's giving the bride away and he does and then he steps back near my mother and Effie. Apparently, according to Effie, half of the guests are on one side while the other half is on the other. They're separated by being a relative or guest of the bride or groom. Haymitch is on my side.

I suddenly realize I'm in front of Peeta and the man says, "Wove, twue wove," and I can't hear him anymore as I look at Peeta.

Everything around me fades as I look into those blue eyes, those eyes that can be so trusting but deceptive. Didn't I think that he was playing for himself when he cried after the Reaping? Those eyes looked sincere then, those lying eyes. They look sincere now, but I can tell he's not lying when he says, "I do." He means every word as he looks at me in his black suit.

I only wish that I love him as much as he loves me. Things would be so much easier if I could allow myself to love him and not get so tangled up with my emotions and Capitol plans and my mood swings when sometimes I'm so mad at him and sometimes I just want to sink into his embrace. If only I could be so sincere with his love for me as my love for him.

The eyes of the Capitol are all around me, but I don't feel them. I push the fact that I'm holding a bouquet of the flower I hate the most, the flower that represents the someone I hate the most, out of my mind. Because I don't want to think that President Snow is right here, watching us now.

"I do," I say when the time comes. I don't know what the time is. I'm only told what to do and I say it. I have to. Not doing it is not an option.

"You may kwiss da bwide," the man said, and throwing the bouquet of flowers over my head, I keep my eyes on Peeta.

"What are you doing?" he says.

"Marrying you," I say with a smile, and my arms wrap around him and his lips meet mine. His arms wrap around me and he feels so strong as he lifts me up. The back of my mind tells me that I did it, that I can stop with the kiss, but I don't want to stop kissing Peeta. I'm married to him now.

After a few seconds he pulls away and looks at me with a soft expression. He breathes out, "Wow," and I can slowly hear the noise of incredible applauding behind us. The people watching at home in the Capitol must be jumping up and down now. We're married. The star-crossed lovers of District 12.

We turn to see the audience and I can see my mother. She's not clapping, but she's smiling, and she looks so happy for us that I can't help but feel a bit ashamed of how our relationship is. How it could be better when she's so happy for me and I need to get her back.

Prim's clapping enthusiastically but Gale just stands there with his solid grey eyes, watching us. I gulp when I suddenly remember the kiss that we shared back in District 12 and that's probably what he's thinking about now.

Shaking my head a little, I avoid his gaze and I spot Cinna in the crowd. He's watching me, not clapping, but he's mouthing something. I lean forward a little because I can't see and when a man's blue wig moves, I can tell what he wants me to do.

I quickly turn back to Peeta, my forehead against his forehead.

"Spin me," I say to him quietly.

"What?" he says.

"Make me twirl. For the audience," I say. He nods and steps back a little as he smiles and holding my hand, spins me around.

The dress swishes about despite the added weight of the pearls and suddenly I see orange and black on my wedding dress and I feel something creep on me. Orange and black. The color of burning coal.

I'm on fire.

Peeta stops me twirling and the whole crowd gasps as Peeta says, "Katniss!"

Wait, the fire's burning out. No, it isn't. It's getting bigger, running up my dress, eating away at the priceless jewels. I'm not burning, though. A feeling of ticklish delight covers me wherever the fire is, and suddenly it blows out.

Peeta lets go of my hand and next to me, whispers, "Are you all right?"

I nod. I'm more than all right. My dress is black in a feathery texture with white underlays. I'm more than all right. I'm a mockingjay.

**We all know how Cinna did up her dress and so I thought that we needed his touch of rebellion to add to the fact that HE DIED AND HE HELPED WITH THE REBELLION AND THIS SORT OF RUNS WITH CANON AND SO HE HAD TO SO yeah. Thanks for reading!**


	9. Parties in the Capitol Suck

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Hunger Games. Did y'all like the wedding? :)**

The reaction, as usual, is instantaneous. The Capitol crowd's gasping, and my guests all look astounded. This act of rebellion, turning my Capitol wedding dress into a sign of the rebellion, seconds after we just got married, is dangerous, and looking to Cinna, I wonder why he did this. He said when I was about to enter the Hunger Games arena last year that he would bet on me if he could. I give him a tight smile that I hope nobody else notices. He's still betting on me.

The wedding man calls out, "Mistwor and Missus Peeta and Katwiss Mellwark!" and Peeta and I lift our joined hands high into the air, and the Capitol takes this as a sign to cheer excitedly for the new married couple. Oh. This is so much more than that. Look at us. Married because of the Capitol, but still rebelling. We're going to be rebelling until the end of our lives.

The music swells and Peeta and I hurry down the aisle, hoping that we don't get trampled. Effie somehow finds us and is crying her eyes out but is dabbing at them with a handerkerchief. Trying to restrain herself. Classic Effie.

She starts to lead us to the waiting room. Behind us, I can see Portia, Haymitch and Cinna leading down my family and the Hawthornes. Cinna is getting crowded by Capitol citizens, all wanting to know his secrets and how he did it and how they want his autograph. Snow won't like this. Great. Just add 'worry about Cinna' to the things I have to think about when this is all over.

I hold tightly to Peeta's hand and keep as calm as I can while he jokes and answers questions that cameramen and reporters and photographers ask him. People are yelling and Peacekeepers are moving them out of the way. Everything is loud. Really loud, and I now want to get out of here. Wearing this dress made me feel empowered, but now I just want to go.

The amount of people all dressed up and looking ridiculous disgusts me. I want to go.

Fortunately, nobody but us and our team and family is allowed in the waiting room, and we wait there. Peeta squeezes my hand and I avoid the cold, sad glare of Gale, who's sitting between happy Posy and Prim, who is watching us both with concerned eyes.

They're both making me feel guilty. I wish they would stop. I'm never mad at Prim, but I'm a bit annoyed with her now. I know that she doesn't care if I marry Gale or Peeta as long as I'm happy, but the way that she looks at Gale and then at me makes me want to not look at her. There's nothing I can do. Is it the fact that I look like I'm actually happy with Peeta? Is that it? The mockingjay dress?

Suddenly I wonder if that's part of it. I'm part of the rebellion now, only I'm in it with Peeta. Gale was always the one who talked about how he hated the Capitol. How it disgusted him. How he wanted to kill anyone that watched the Games with pleasure. Is the fact that this mockingjay dress is the one that I married Peeta in the one that's making him mad? That I'm not rebelling with him, but with Peeta, who doesn't have nearly the same amount of animosity toward the Capitol as Gale or I?

An hour later, we're in the party. A small walk away is a large room, the biggest I've ever seen. The roof's all peaked and it's see through, allowing rays of sunlight to cover the floor.

Balls that sparkle are attached to the clear ceiling, and reflective lights dance on the floor. A large amount of musicians play toward the back on a giant stage that looks like burning coals. It's orange and black and I'm pleased. How Snow must have wanted to please the Capitol citizens and still get at me. He's never going to win at the pace he's going. I'm running faster.

Our pictures get taken as we pass through into the room, and people are clapping. I wonder how much they paid the President to come to the star-crossed lovers wedding. Thousands. The President is going to make a pretty penny off of our TV romance.

I'm starving and finally Haymitch comes through with a bottle of wine and he's telling everyone to go away so that we can have a good wedding party. They whine and plead as the Peacekeepers surround them and take them away. Never have I been this happy to see Peacekeepers. Ever. And I'm never on good terms with Peacekeepers. I am only friends with Darius, and look at him now. An Avox. The Capitol is turning everyone I know and love into something to unhinge me.

Hazelle's off with her young sons and Posy. My mother goes to find a seat amongst the literally thousands of fancy chairs with Prim, and Mr. Mellark follows Mrs. Mellark like a puppy to their own seats.

Cort and Bryce want to go get alcoholic drinks, and they follow Haymitch. I watch them and wonder if they even remember that Haymitch is from the Seam. Town people don't usually hang with Seam people. The people I know and I are breaking those social rules. Didn't my mother, a townie, marry a boy from the Seam? Did Peeta, the townie, just marry me, the girl from the Seam? And not only did he marry me, but he fell in love with me at a young age.

At the moment, Peeta's feeling a bit happy, but he's down to earth at the moment for my sake, asking me quietly, "What do you want to do now? Do you want to go eat something?"

Looking at him, he's so excited, and I think that maybe he's letting himself have this one moment of us being together, happy. Together at a party, married, and enjoying one another's company. I know that he knows that he won't have much sanity in his life when we get back to 12, and he just wants to live the fact that he's married to me, the girl he loves, and he wants to spend time with me. I don't want to spend time with me.

"We-we . . . do you want to find any of the other victors?" I ask him.

"I thought you didn't want to hang out with them?" he says.

"I thought you wanted to enjoy tonight. Might as well talk with people we know a little, right?" I say. He nods, and I wonder if he thinks I want to avoid talking to Gale, who we both know far more than the other victors.

He smiles and says, "Let's do that, then."

We head over to the buffet, which is crowded but populated with several of the victors. Peeta shakes Woof's hand as Woof congratulates us and I mentally look for several different victors. Johanna from 8 is here and so is Finnick, Chaff, Gloss and Brutus. I recognize their names from the tapes that Effie sent us. We haven't seen them all yet, but they all had a victor's name and a number marking when the Game was on the tape.

No one's off having a secret meeting of any sort. I spot Haymitch by the bar, and I know that he's going to be in for a shock when we get back to 12. Without alcohol, he's going to be thinning and grouchy once more. I thought we had gotten past that stage.

We find Finnick with Annie next to him. She's wearing a green dress and he's talking to two Capitol ladies. He says "No" to them and they walk away looking pouty. What did Finnick not do for them now?

Peeta greets him and he and Annie congratulate us. Noticing that Annie is holding onto his arm and Finnick seems to not mind, I ask him the first thing that comes to my brain.

"Are you two together?" I say. Finnick and Annie give me a weird look. This is why I don't hang out with girls my age. I'm no good at talking about things like relationships and things. I'd rather kill a squirrel.

"Kind of," Finnick says, and then he goes off on this boat ride he had at District 4 and Annie's laughing and Peeta's enjoying the story and I give them a smile for show but I realize that I'm tired. I don't want to be at this party anymore. I know that parties at the Capitol last for hours and hours into the night and this just makes me grumpy.

All around me are bright lights and painted people and I want them to go away. I want to be back in District 12. Hunting, bartering, being with Gale, living in Victor's Village because I can't live in my own house anymore.

I suddenly feel like I want to throw up, and Peeta looks at me and I must look awful despite my makeup and he asks me, "Are you all right?"

"I'll be right back," I say, and my hand slips out of his and I quickly walk away, hurrying out of this huge room with its sickening people in it. My mother and Prim and the Hawthornes and the Mellarks are all right, but the Capitol citizens make me want to make them all fall in punch bowls. I did that to their Head Gamemaker. How I want to do it to them.

"Katniss?" I hear behind me, and I ignore Peeta's voice. This is his night of happiness. Why would he want it to be ruined by me?

I ignore him and walk out into the hallways. Passing Avoxes and chefs, who are all wondering why I'm out here and not enjoying the party? My fists are clenched and I can still hear the calls of Peeta but I ignore him. I just want to be alone at the moment. Let this all sink in.

This thought ends when I nearly walk into the President of Panem.

He doesn't even like parties. Why would he come to my wedding? Maybe it's because it's the biggest event of the year (besides the Quarter Quell) but even so. Plutarch had said that the President thought big parties were too crowded, and yet here he is, Peacekeepers standing a respectful distance away from him. Are they his bodyguards now?

"President Snow," I say as calmly as I can.

He smiles his big smile with his puffy lips and says, "Mrs. Mellark, congratulations. I have to say that was quite a spectacular ceremony."

"Cinna is . . . a great designer," I say.

He nods and I hear footsteps behind me slow down and Peeta asks, "Katniss?"

"Peeta, congratulations," President Snow says.

Peeta nods and says, "Thank you."

"You must be very excited, marrying the girl that you've loved for so long," President Snow says, looking back and forth between my heavily breathing body to Peeta's calm but slightly confused self. "Though, do you mind if I intrude? Just a few minutes of your time."

Meaning what, exactly? I'm sure he wants to talk, but what else is there to talk about?

"Didn't we do enough?" I ask before I can shut my mouth, and I know that instantly I wasn't supposed to say that.

The smile remains on Snow's face, but his voice is colder as he says, "No. Now, please, follow me." He turns to the Peacekeepers and mutters something to them. I'm sure that they are to make sure that we're not disturbed by anyone at the wedding as Snow beckons us to follow him.

"Let's go on a walk, shall we?" he says.

We can't not agree, so Peeta and I fall step in step with the President. I can smell the roses on his breath as he opens his mouth to speak. He clasps his hands together in front of himself and he says in a calm, conversational voice, "So. I can see that your new wedding dress is quite a hit, Mrs. Mellark."

Of course. The dress. I'd be a fool to think that it would not come around to bite me. I'm not afraid of President Snow now, though. What can he do now? He's already sending Peeta and I to our deaths. My mother and Prim can be harmed, of course, and I'm worried about that. Still, I'm sharp and cool as I say, "Cinna outdid himself."

"Not bad, considering that dress wasn't his design," Snow says.

Cinna's a better stylist than even the Capitol took him for. They're probably going to be handling all of my dresses here until I go home.

"He's clever like that."

"I can see that quite clearly, Katniss," Snow says. He stops walking and he says, "He might want to exercise restraint."

Peeta nods and we resume with our walking. My pace is brisk and my breath is heavy as we continue. Snow obviously doesn't want the sparks of Panem to be stoked by Cinna. He doesn't want me to look the part of the rebellion. He doesn't want me to be a Mockingjay.

Snow clears his throat and adds, "Stoking the fire only creates more flames." He looks at me through the corner of his eye and says, "Keep an eye on your stylist. He might start a wildfire."

Indeed. Cinna might just start a fire that cannot be controlled. I look at the ground, away from Snow's snake-like eyes. I think that is what Cinna intended. He wants everyone rallied up. That despite the fact that the only two victors of the Hunger Games who came out of the same arena were forced to play by the Capitol's terms doesn't mean that it's the end.

I might have volunteered for Prim, but I think Cinna's the one who lit the match and started the rebellion.

I look back, and the Peacekeepers are a safe distance away. I turn back, wondering if they heard a word that the President and I said. Gulping, I look to Snow, who's only a foot away from me, and I wonder how easily I can strangle him right here and now.

Peeta says, "We'll talk with Cinna. He should be agreeable."

"Of course. Ask him to look for something with a bit more . . . originality," the President says. He adds, "Flames are so overdone."

Cinna and Portia are the ones who came up with the flames and fire. They're completely original, but I know that Snow wants Cinna to portray me as someone other than the Girl on Fire. He's probably wanting the Girl in Love back, as bad as in love I acted.

"Very. Everyone's wearing them now. Even some of the guests at our wedding," I say.

Snow looks unprovoked as we head toward the party. He smiles and says, "Let's just hope we can keep it as a fashion trend."

"Of course," Peeta says, and Snow stops and congratulates us, says goodbye to Peeta, kisses my hand and leaves me gagging as he disappears.

Peeta turns to me quickly and says, "Fair warning, then."

"Yeah," I say quietly.

He holds his hand and says just as quietly, "Do you want to head back into the party or no?"

I don't want to, but I'm going to have to. Being a celebrity and victor in the Capitol, I have to keep up appearances. At least I won't have to do this anymore after the arena.

My fingers intertwine with his, and my grey eyes meet his blue and I nod.

He nods as well and we head back into the party. The loud, colorful, and completely impractical party. It's nice of the Capitol to spend so much money on our one party when they want to kill us both.

The rest of the evening carries on rather quietly. Well, quiet in Capitol terms. It's still a riot, with dancing and swinging and singing and eating. The cake comes out and everyone claps and cheers. Listening to Effie, Peeta and I cut the first slice of cake, though we did not do what she had added at the end. Shoving cake in our faces is not going to make us any happier about this situation. It'll only make me feel more guilty and more angry toward the Capitol for starving its districts.

Mr. and Mrs. Mellark come over to us. Peeta and I are standing near the buffet table. I only nibble on some fancy cracker with fish when Mr. Mellark says, "Congratulations, you two."

"Thanks, Dad," Peeta says brightly, and for once Mr. Mellark pulls himself away from Mrs. Mellark's side to hug his son. They start to engage in some sort of baker talk I don't understand and Mrs. Mellark and I are left standing opposite each other. Looking at her awkwardly, her eyes look me over. Her face is set in a sharp look.

I look back at her with a frown. She looks at me a moment before she says quickly, "Hope you're happy, then, seeing as he had no choice."

"He's happy," I say. "Doesn't matter if I am or not."

I know that she didn't really mean that, but I find a little solace in the fact that she's looking at me with a sarcastic look.

"Never thought that all those years ago that you'd be the one the boy took notice of," she says. Inhaling sharply, she adds with venom, "I wasn't too happy with hearing the boy's story on TV."

What story? Oh. The one where Mr. Mellark pointed me out and said that he wanted to marry my mother.

If I didn't hate her that much, I might sympathize with Mrs. Mellark. Being a second choice is not something you want to be.

She snarls and says, "Congratulations. Now, you're both doomed," and she walks away.

I stare back at her, my retort falling from my mouth. She could see the President coming to see me before and after the Victor's Tour. She's figured out about the berries. She may be sharp and bitter, but she's no fool. She knows what I did. She knows what the berries mean.

The scent of flowers fills the air as Peeta comes back very cheerful and offers to dance. I nod quickly, not wanting him to ask about what I talked about with his mother.

We take the dance floor. The dances here at the Capitol are in couples. In District 12, we all clapped and danced together. Whenever we could dance, though. So Peeta and I just hold hands and he twirls me.

Finnick is still here and so is Haymitch and Annie and Johanna and none of the victors are gone. I keep an especially careful eye on Haymitch. He's the one who's been watching me as well. We're keeping an eye on each other. Frowning and watching.

Plutarch Heavensbee, the Head Gamemaker this year, comes to congratulate us. I smile and thank him but inside I hate him. He's the one creating the arena this year. What sort of death does Snow want him to give to me? Something big to blow out such a big victor. Such a threat to the Capitol.

The night ends at two o'clock. I wanted to go to bed earlier, but we had got pulled into conversation with a bunch of the victors. I don't mind looking rude, and so I wanted to go, but they kept talking and talking and asking questions and they wouldn't stop. I think Johanna enjoyed my discomfort. She looked very happy with her purple drink.

We take several limos back to the Training Center. Looking out the window, I watch with tired but still wide awake eyes at the celebrating Capitol. The center of the city is packed, replaying our entire wedding. I can smell drinks and I feel like throwing up as I roll up the window and lean against Peeta's shoulder.

Hurrying into the Training Center. Peacekeepers surround us. The elevators are full of people. Prim is nearly asleep and Posy's snoozing on Gale's shoulder. He looks tired but calm as he helps his mother and brothers in the elevator. I didn't get a chance to talk with him all evening long. The one time I did see him was at the fountain he was with a drink, gazing into the crystal water. I didn't go to talk to him. I didn't know what to say.

I watch the floor to avoid Gale. We're in the same elevator, and I don't know what to say to him. It's too late for us to say anything. He just is quiet as Peeta pushes the buttons and takes us to Level 12.

They never stay up this late, and because of that, Vick and Rory are nearly asleep themselves as Gale moves them along to their bedrooms. These past few nights in the Capitol hasn't affected me. I barely get any sleep at night anyway.

Peeta heads to his bedroom and he says, "Coming?"

"I need my pajamas," I say, though I'd rather just sleep in my underwear. Maybe it's the way that I don't like naked limbs around me that makes me head back into my bedroom with Posy and Prim.

Dressed, I come out of the bathroom to see Prim sitting on her bed. She's in her nightgown, and she looks at me as she says, "Good night."

I smile at her, tired as I am, and bend to give her a kiss and a hug. "'Night, little duck."

She watches me as I close the door. The apartment is empty and I head into Peeta's bedroom, opening the door quietly.

He's sitting on his bed. Dressed in night shirt and pants, he's taking off his leg. He looks up and says, "Hey."

"Hey," I say.

He finishes with his leg and I say quickly, "I'm really, really tired."

"Yeah. Of course," he says.

I nod awkwardly and he moves over onto his side of the bed. We never talked about anything, so we're not doing anything except sleeping in the same bed. We're married now, and so my mother and Mrs. Mellark (my mother-in-law. I shudder at the thought) won't throw looks at us anymore.

The light turns off as I head under the covers. Cool and sleek against my tired body. There's too much that happened today to absorb, and I try not to think about it as I turn my back to Peeta.

"Good night," he says.

"Good night," I whisper, and I pull the pillow tighter into my grasp.

* * *

My arrow doesn't hit the apple but Seneca Crane. All of the Gamemakers are in an uproar. I try to stay calm as I apologize but I'm seized by Peacekeepers. Handcuffed, I'm taken to the Head Peacekeeper who tells me that my mother and sister are going to be in danger. Because of me killing the Head Gamemaker, everyone I know is going to be in trouble.

I scream for them to not to, to do whatever they want to me, but they just stare at me with malicious eyes as they drag me away. My voice goes hoarse as we take the elevator. My voice dies as we go up.

"Katniss?" I hear, and I toss and turn and ignore the voice. No. It's Peeta's voice. They can't kill Peeta. He's a tribute. They need him in their Games.

"Katniss, oh, Katniss," and my eyes fly open. I'm not in cuffs. I'm in bed. Peeta's next to me and I sit up straight. My braid whips as I turn to him. He's sitting up, looking worried.

"Another nightmare?"

"Yeah," I say breathlessly.

"What about?"

"I shot Seneca Crane instead of the apple," I say. "My mother and Prim were going to be in an accident because of me." Even though it's a dream, I feel relentless guilt and pain. Look. This is what the Hunger Games did to me. Keeps me awake at night. It fills me with terror and caution everywhere I go. Snow doesn't need to unhinge me with his tactics. His Games already did that for him.

"You'd never be able to do that," Peeta says. "You always hit whatever you want to hit. You shoot straight."

Laying back down, I know Peeta's trying to make me feel better, but the guilt and pain still stays.

I wonder if he has had his family threatened. I highly doubt it. I was the one who thought of the berries, who wanted us to die. Being the one who started this rebellion, I'm the one with the responsibility of keeping it from blowing up.

"You weren't trying to hit Seneca Crane, were you?" he does say softly as he lies back down, watching me.

Part of me is mad at him for suggesting such a thing. The other part is maybe agreeing with him. My stomach churns. Did I actually want to hit the Head Gamemaker or was it a faulty shot?

I shrug and he says, "Turn around." I flip over and his arms wrap around me so that we're one unit, wrapped up in the blankets.

"It's okay," he says.

Oh, how I wish it is, Peeta. How I wish it is.

* * *

The next day's pandemonium as we have to head out to District 12. We're leaving in the afternoon, but the morning is filled with an interview with Caesar Flickerman and pictures and replays on the TV. I lean against Peeta's shoulder as we rewatch our interview while Effie runs about the apartment, fretting over everything and Haymitch. When will the interviews end?

On our way to the car, fences are put up to protect us. Peacekeepers with guns stand by. Their weapons are white and stylish, making the screaming, painted Capitol fans not scared at all as they scream our names. They try to catch a glimpse of my mother and Prim, who hurry into the car together. Prim has her hair in braids, and her natural blue eyes stick out amongst the great amount of people with differently colored eyes.

Mr. and Mrs. Mellark walk ahead. Cort and Bryce next. Hazelle and Posy. Gale followed by Rory and Vick. Gale and I barely spoke at breakfast. There's a great tension between us. As usual.

Effie smiles and waves as she moves on. Haymitch waves and stumbles his way over. People still remember him as the only victor to get two tributes home (and as the drunk guy who fell on the camera at the Reaping), and they all laugh and cheer.

Peeta and I wait in the Training Center as they leave. The other victors are going to stay a while longer in the Capitol. Finnick tells us goodbye along with Annie. Johanna saunters over and wishes us goodbye.

"Wish I could find a guy like you. I'd scoop him up soon as I could," she says teasingly as she bumps Peeta. I frown as she smirks and walks away. Johanna is differently playing some kind of angle with us. I need to figure out what it is.

For some reason, Mags walks up and taking our heads in her hands, kisses our foreheads and pats our shoulders. I smile at her as she babbles. I didn't grow up with a grandmother. I like Mags, despite the fact I know to not get attached to any of the victors.

Peeta looks to me as Mags walks away. His large baker hand reaches down and holds my skinny one. Our eyes meet and he says, "Ready?"

I nod. "Yeah."

"Let's knock them dead," and we go through the doors. The only thought I can think through the blinding lights as Peeta hurries me through the crowd is _before they do the same to us_.

The ride home is rather uneventful. We'll be getting home late in the evening. We all eat lunch together in the now tiny looking dining room. I remember when it looked so huge. With its big shiny tables and gleaming glasses and filled plates, it was the biggest, most surprising and disgusting thing I had ever seen.

How much now I have seen that this little dining room in this train is almost like a second home. No. Third home. The Victor's Village home is my second home.

I lay on my old bed for the entire afternoon. Prim stays beside me. When she had come in, she had looked inquisitive, but she asked nothing as she sat down next to me. She knows that I don't want to talk. She instead brushes my hair with her fingers and lets me lay in silence.

Peeta comes in, asking how I am. I close my eyes and listen as Prim says, "She's okay."

Peeta makes a talking noise before he clears his throat. He must have nodded because he just leaves.

Effie comes in a few hours later, squealing about how we're there. I sit up, and I can hear the sounds of the cameramen outside the train doors, ready to get our first move as a married couple. I should probably find Peeta. I don't want to.

Groaning and with Prim following me, I go to find Peeta.

Everyone's gathered at the train doors, and Effie, her hands on my shoulders, hurries me forward to find Peeta.

I stumble and he's in front of me and Bryce makes a joke and everyone laughs. I straighten and take Peeta's hand.

"Ready?" I ask him.

"Yes," he says, and Effie reaches forward and opens the doors.

We're welcomed with the silence of District 12.

**Yes. Good. This is the second to last chapter. I hope you liked it, and thanks for reading!**


	10. The Newlyweds are Home

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Hunger Games. Here's the last chapter of this story! Thank you all for reading!**

I can feel the tension as I look over my district. The cold, greyness of it all is still there, despite the hot summer. No doubt all of the citizens had to been ousted out of their homes and into the square to celebrate the return of their beloved married victors.

Slight problem for the Capitol, though. They're not celebrating.

Their cold, hard and grey faces look back at us, straight from the Capitol. While living in the lap of luxury, they're here with their dirty mines and abundant amount of punishing tools and so many Peacekeepers.

They look straight at us, and I can feel the guilt even though they say nothing. All eyes are on me. The instigator. Because of me, District 12 is like this.

Peeta's hand feels tighter and I spot Madge in the crowd. Her white dress and blonde hair and blue eyes stick out to me as she looks at me. Oh, great. Having Madge mad at me is not something I want. She's practically my only friend that I can count on, and she's looking my way with a poker face.

I can feel Effie's nervousness as she says brightly so that the whole district can hear, "Hello, District Twelve!" The cameras are still rolling, and someone has to get the show going. "It's so great to be back here. I know that Katniss and Peeta were looking forward to coming home as well. Congratulations!" She turns to us and claps, hoping to get everyone to clap as well.

They don't. Madge instead puts three fingers from her left hand to her lips and then raises them as far as her arm can reach. Her face is still set as poker, though, but her rebellious statement is all that is needed. Miners, people from town, small toddlers, everyone in District 12 does the same gesture. All looking cold, for the cameras are on the entire district. This is airing live. Everyone in Panem is going to see that District 12 is going to rebel. The time? Who knows. But the message is clear. Snow cannot control the districts much longer.

I see arms near me pop up, and it's Gale, and it's Rory and Vick. Even if they haven't gone into the mines, they're still doing it. I watch in amazement as Cort does it, and Bryce. Hazelle and Posy, who despite not knowing the gesture does it. Mr. Mellark. Even the surly Mrs. Mellark. Prim and my mother. Haymitch watches, looking surly for a moment before he too does the same. Even Haymitch.

There's safety in numbers. The Peacekeepers can't punish all these people. It's over 10,000 people. Too many. They can destroy the district, but that would just make the other districts rebel. 8 already has. District 13 was already made into an example. All they can do is send in more Peacekeepers, but what more can they do? We already endure their beatings, their stocks and whippings. Gale already has, and look at him now. There's nothing the Capitol can do.

Overcoming my shock and amazement, I look to Peeta. He nods. He understands.

Without a word between us, I use my left and he uses his right and we do the gesture. Our joined hands are raised as well and the whole district is in a manner of all understanding. Effie looks at us, surprised. I feel victorious. See this, President Snow. See how you can break us down and how we build up again. See how you can make even the victors not safe, and see how we come back. Watch, President Snow. Watch as your country starts to fall.

Effie somehow finds her voice. She knows she needs to bring back some sort of something. "What a lovely way to welcome home the new couple!" She finishes up with the speech she had planned. She turns to Peeta and I and says, "Shall we take you home?"

A car shows up and we get off of the train and head into the car. I'm the last one in, and I catch a glimpse of Madge as the crowds disperse, the Peacekeepers walking around with their guns. I give her a smile, which is a rare thing for me to do. She nods and smiles back before she hurries away. I watch her leave and head into the car. Once on the soft, plush seat, I hope that the Peacekeepers don't find her out as the person who started the salute.

We pull up to Victor's Village. Attendants get out and bring the few things from the Capitol for Peeta and I into Peeta's house. The car disappears with the Hawthornes and Mellarks and I watch it leave. Hope it makes it to its destination. Wouldn't it be just funny if the car disappeared or got into an accident? Take away the victors' family who did the salute?

I shutter and look to the white house. My eye catches sight of my mother and Prim getting led into the Victor's Village house by Effie and attendants. Suddenly I'm concerned. I want to go with them. I have to get them.

"Katniss?" Peeta asks.

"Peeta," I say, turning to him, "they're taking my mother and Prim to the house."

"Yeah. So?" Peeta says, honestly having no idea what I'm saying.

"Peeta, the only reason they're allowed to live there is because I lived there. Now that I'm living with you . . ." I say, trailing off. They should be ousted to our old house in the Seam. Are they in there to get back their things?

I look at Peeta with pleading eyes. He quickly says, "Go. Check it out."

I nod and run into my old house. Everything looks the same. If not better. The place must have been cleaned when we were gone. I see Prim's sewing and her books carefully set away on the shelf as if they belong there.

I search the house but I can't find Effie. My mother's in her bedroom, getting unpacked, and she looks at me, concerned, as I peek in and then hurry out of her bedroom. I find Prim in her bedroom, unpacking our father's mirror.

"Where's Effie?" I say, trying to look calm.

"She's in the office," Prim says, and I bolt out. Thoughts run through my head as I skirt down the stairs. Not the office. Not the place where Snow came and talked to me. Forced me to act in love with Peeta. Forced me to get married or else. Why that room?

I stop in front of the door. A plain white door for a plain room. So many memories attached to it. Painful, terrifying flashbacks to when the President simply came into my house and told me what to do. Threatened me. Threatened my family.

Taking a deep breath, I open the door and say, "Effie?"

"Hmm. Yes, Katniss?" Gulping and fighting every urge I have to not go into this room, I walk into the office. The desk looks the same. The chairs look the same. It's the fresh rose in the vase that makes me blanch and want to throw up.

"Katniss?" I hear, and Effie's smiling at me. "What is it?"

"Um," I say. That's all I can say. I gulp and look away from the smelly flower and look to Effie and say, "I was just wondering why my sister and mother are coming back here."

"Why, the President DID say this was their house," Effie says, looking concerned. "I was told to bring them back to their home in Victor's Village, and here I am!"

I nod and force a smile. "Of course." Effie's just following orders. Orders from Snow to take my mother and sister back to their house in Victor's Village. Why? He knew that I would move in with Peeta. It would make more sense just to shove them back into the Seam. Why bring them here?

Effie smiles in relief and looking to the vase, says, "The President told me to bring something to brighten the place. Make it more delightful. I was given this to bring in by an Avox. Doesn't it look beautiful, Katniss?"

I mutely nod and Effie says, "And why are you here?"

"To get my stuff," I say quickly.

She furrows her eyebrows and says, "Why? All of your things are already at Peeta's house!"

Oh. Apparently there was a reason the place was clean. All of my things were taken and they cleaned the house in the process of cleaning me out. I nod and she hurries out after kissing me goodbye on the cheek, something about the train.

I look at the rose, breathing heavily. It's so innocent looking. A fragile, delicate white rose in a tall, clear vase. Only Snow and I know its true meaning. He knows how it unhinges me and makes me want to curl up into a ball on the floor.

The wind from an open window blows through and I quickly turn away. The breeze sends the smell to me. Taunting me. Reminding me that I am still, despite the district's sign of respect, the Capitol's victor. The Capitol's tribute. And there's nothing I can do to get away from them.

I head back to Peeta's house, and I give it a good look. Same white door. Same steps, walk and chimney. Entirely different house.

Going through the door, I look inside. I haven't actually been in Peeta's house more than once or twice. It looks like mine furniture-wise. It has the same green sofa and soft armchair, same kitchen table and floating island. It's a bit lighter, and I see that Peeta's turned lights on. It's getting dark outside. I didn't notice.

I can already see the things that are mine set about the house. Set about in places they should go. My boots all lined up near the door. My jacket on the hook. My book with Peeta's drawings of herbs on the coffee table. It almost looks like a home. Like a married couple could live here.

Seeing Peeta in the kitchen, I say, "Unpacked?"

"Just about," he says. I walk over and look at what he has out. Flour and yeast are on the counter. A bowl and steaming water. He changed into a tee shirt and tan pants. His hands are covered with flour as he starts mixing things.

"What are you doing?" I ask him cautiously. Married life isn't something I'm used to and I don't know how to approach it.

"Making bread," he says.

"We have some from the train," I say, looking over near the sink. There's a basket of bread on the counter. Effie had told attendants to drop things off when we exited the car. Wouldn't want us to come home to an empty cupboard. An empty cupboard like practically all the other houses in District 12.

"Thought we could have some homemade," he says. He looks back to his dough and I say, "Heading out to the bakery tomorrow?"

"Aren't we going to train tomorrow?" he asks.

"I . . . I thought with the Peacekeepers, and . ." I trail off. He has a point. What more can Snow do at this point? Why not train for the fight of our lives? Give the Capitol a good show. Just like our wedding.

"Why not?" he says with a laugh.

"Sure," I say. I nod and add, "Why not?"

"Great," he says, and he looks back to the dough. "Bread should be done in an hour."

"Got it," I say, and I walk away to turn on more lights. Flipping switches on the walls. Letting an orange glow cover the bottom floor of our house. Our house. Not the house I share with Prim and my mother. Our house. The house that Peeta and I share.

I close the curtains and avert my eyes from the office that's identical to the one in the other house. I look out a window and see the white curtains of Haymitch's house play against golden light. He must be moody after having so much alcohol and now having none. I close the curtains with unneeded force. I don't feel sorry for him. He has a secret, a secret involving other tributes, and he's not telling me. I made a deal with Snow so that we wouldn't lie to each other. I should have done the same thing with Haymitch.

Heading up to the bedroom, I pause on the stairs. Even though Peeta and I have shared the same bed together numerous times before, I somehow feel strange. What nightmares will haunt me tonight? What happens now?

Taking a deep breath, I turn to the bottom of the stairs and tell Peeta I'm going to go bathe. He says fine, and I head upstairs.

Soaking in the warm water, I wash myself with the silky soaps straight from the Capitol. I pause as I lather up a washcloth. I wonder which district this is from. Maybe from 10 where there's animals to make soap from. Maybe 2 or 1 or something. They're closest to the Capitol and closest to their soap.

I towel off and put on a tank and shorts. It's warm outside, but the evening is dark and my pajamas comfort me. Remind me of home.

Heading downstairs, I can see that most of the lights are off. I can already smell the comforting smell of bread baking. I haven't smelled that smell very much. At home in the Seam we rarely were able to make bread by ourselves. In the other Victor's Village house, before the Quarter Quell announcement, Peeta used to bring bread over that he baked at the bakery. I've only been in the bakery itself a few times. It smells wonderful. It smells comforting and homey.

The whole house, despite itself, looks cozy. The bread just adds to it. I see Peeta in the living room. The TV is off so we don't need to watch ourselves get married over and over and he's over by the fireplace. He's building up a fire, setting a match on fire and adding papers.

He notices me and says, "Hey, c'mon."

"What?" I say, kneeling next to him.

"Look at the coals," he says excitedly. I look at him strangely until he says, "They look like we did. On the chariot."

"The tributes on fire," I say, and he smiles and says, "Yeah." His blue eyes smile along with him as he looks back to the fire and adds more wood. I can't help but watch him as he does so. His hands, baker's hands, are rough looking, despite the Capitol's ways with them. He must have washed off their lotions and powders, leaving his baker's hands raw and real.

It doesn't really feel like we're married. We've been in such a weird relationship for so long that it's weird to think that we have the opportunity to have a different one. We've been friends, lovers, enemies, acquaintances and classmates. We've been numerous things. When he threw that bread to me that day, I can bet neither he nor I would have thought that six years later we'd get married. At the Capitol, no less. But married still.

Married in a place where nothing in District 12 reigned. There was nothing from home there except people. There was no toasting of the bread, no signing of the sheet, no renting a dress or anything. I had thought before that if I ever got married, that would be how I would get wedded. Apparently not.

Peeta walks away, saying something about the bread being ready. I'm left looking into the flames. Without that bread, who knows where we'd be? Strange as it sounds, it's almost like bread brought us together.

Maybe it will. I stand up and walk over to the kitchen. Search through one of the drawers. Pick up two metal sticks called skewers or something. Look to Peeta and say, "Come here."

He calls as I walk back to the fire, "What are we doing?"

"Bring over the bread and I'll show you," I say.

He looks uncertain but obliges. A loaf of piping hot bread in his hands, he bounces it back and forth as he sits down cross-legged next to me. Looking at me, he says, "Now what?"

"Haven't you ever seen a toasting, Peeta?" I ask him.

"T-toasting?" he says, incredulous. He looks at me with a confused sort of look, like he's asking me if I really want to do this. I give him a slight nod. I might be legally married, but I want to be wed by my own terms.

He nods and manages to break off a piece of the bread without burning his fingers. He hands some to me and I stick some on my skewer while he does the same. Into the fire they go, the flames licking at the crumbling bread. Once they're a fried sort of brown on either side, we draw them out.

"You first," I say. He nods and takes off the bread, crumbs falling into his palm. He holds it up and, like the wedding cake tradition in the Capitol that we didn't do, carefully makes sure it gets into me. It's brown and tastes of hard work and fire. Fire. Smoky.

I do the same for him and watch him as he chews, his blue eyes never wavering.

"That's it, then," he says when he clears his throat and sits up straighter.

"Yeah," I say quietly. We're now officially married.

The fire crackles and he says quietly, "Are you happy?"

I look back at him, and he's Peeta. Just watching him now amazes me. The way that he can look at me with such sincerity of love. I wonder now if I have the same look on my face.

I give him a smile, a real smile, a smile like I would have in the woods, doing my favorite thing.

"Peeta," I say, leaning near him, "I think I am." The Capitol can take our freedom, our lives, but they can't take our fight. Look at us now. Defying the Capitol. Defeating it. Being victorious. I have only a few weeks left. But I'll have them with him.

"Really?" he says, leaning close.

"Really," I say, and I lean in, closing the gap between us.

The fire crackles in the fireplace as we end the kiss and rest our foreheads against each other. Soon after this we'll be forced into the arena, killing for the Capitol.

But we now have this moment to ourselves.

**AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. THE END. MY BABIES I CAN'T EVEN. Thank you all for your lovely reviews and alerts! Good night!**


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